Haunted Dreams
by BH72
Summary: Callen has been sleeping less than his usual few hours due to an old dream that's returned. He's losing weight, looking gaunt and become edgy. His nightmare enters his day when a case involves two people from his past. Russians have returned to kill him, but he has no idea who they are. He needs to open up to Nate and trust an old friend to find out why and who they are.
1. Chapter 1

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to NCIS Los Angeles or it's characters. I am grateful to be able to use them for this story._

**Chapter 1**

_Dark shadows hung low over his head as he tried to run from the pounding feet. He scanned the area and found a bush that was big enough to hide himself in. He crawled underneath the branches and sat, curled up into a ball. His whole body shook from fear from being chased by men with guns. He had no idea why these men were after him, or who they were? What had he done to have this happened to him? The air was moist after the heavy downpour, which had subsided, which he was grateful for. He felt cold to the bone from being wet already, he worried he might end up in hospital again, and he really disliked them._

Callen sat bolt upright on his bedroll as the nightmare faded to the back of his mind once more. He rubbed his clammy hands over his face, wiping the sweat away. Each night G Callen was haunted. By bad dreams, ghosts of the past and bad memories. During the day he was able to compartmentalise them and survive the day without any concern. He would banter with his partner and the junior members of his team with ease as if he lived a happy life. But the fact was he was lonely. No given name other than a letter. No family to care for him, not in a real long time. The closest he had to family was his team. His boss, Henrietta Lange mothered him, which although he tried not to show, enjoyed it somewhat. Sam had become like a brother to him, and slowly, but surely, he had also let the rest of the team in. A family of people who worked together in secret to save the innocents. He knew only too well he needed to sleep better so he could be at his best to perform his job. But lately, his dreams haunted him more and more, resulting in less sleep even for him. Mistakes could cost him or one of his team their lives. It worried him that he might put them at risk and be asked to leave. No family wanted him for long, growing up. Why would now be any different?

The cell vibrated indicating an incoming call. Callen looked at the caller ID and saw it was Eric. "Hey Eric, what's up?"

"We need you in ops now Callen. We have a situation." Eric was urgent in his request.

"On my way now." Callen disconnected the call and quickly washed the sweat from his body and dressed into a plaid shirt and black denim jeans. He pulled on his Blundstone work boots grabbing his keys, ID and gun as he walked out the door. The drive was quiet with it still being early on a Monday morning. At Five am, the light began to rise above the San Jacinto Mountains to the east of the city of Los Angeles. The orange hues broke through the darkness and suddenly Callen felt human again. He needed coffee, but today it would have to wait. As he pulled into the car parking lot beside the condemned building, he noticed he was the first to arrive. He creased his brow as he tried to ascertain why no one else was there yet. Sam usually arrived around the same time, with Kensi and Deeks slightly ahead of them. Something was not right.

He unlocked the door to the mission and climbed the stairs to find Eric alone. "Where is everyone Eric?"

"They're coming. They had to make a detour first." Eric explained.

"A detour to where?" Eric brought the camera feed to the boat shed up on the screen.

Callen watched the rest of his team talking to a couple, who were obviously in shock over something that had happened. He furrowed his brow as he recognised the man and woman. They had aged somewhat, but they were definitely the same people. "What happened to them?"

Eric looked at Callen strangely because of the soft voice he had used. "Um, is everything ok?"

"Huh! Yeah. Why?" Callen reined in his emotions trying hard to hide what he was feeling.

"You're um...using a strange voice." Eric gulped as he saw Callen glare at him. His steely blue eyes pierced him sharply into his heart.

Callen chose to ignore Eric and concentrated on the people at the boat shed. "Why wasn't I called to go with the rest of my team?" He demanded.

"Because this case is too close to you Mr Callen." Henrietta Lange, former CIA spy entered the Ops Centre undetected once again, making Callen and Eric jump at the sound of her voice. The fact that Callen had not heard her enter proved to her that her team leader had recognised the couple in the boat shed.

"What happened to them Hetty?" Callen stood still with his arms crossed over his chest, placing distance between them.

Eric looked between Hetty and Callen trying to figure out what was going on between them both.

"Some armed men broke into their home just after midnight, holding them hostage until a neighbor raised the alarm. Your team rescued them two hours ago." Hetty revealed.

"Without me? Why? I've not seen them since I was.."

"Nine. Yes I am well aware of that fact Mr Callen. You had responded well with the Harrisons, but then you ran away. You disappeared for two months afterwards...you were a thorn in my side back then, Mr Callen. The Harrisons never told me why you ran away, nor could they understand what went wrong. You had been doing so well. You were sleeping all through the night, you excelled in school, for two months you were happy." Hetty paused and turned to Eric. "Could you give us a few moments alone please Mr Beale?"

Eric stood from his chair and exited holding his tablet, glad to be out of there. Whatever happened to Callen when he was nine was something Callen didn't want anyone to know about.

"It's time to talk about what happened at the Harrisons', Mr Callen. And I mean now." Hetty commanded.

Callen shook his head. "No Hetty. I'm not going there. Not now, not ever." He went to pass Hetty, but she blocked his way.

"Yes Mr Callen, or I'm suspending you for obstruction to a Federal investigation." She pulled no punches. She had been patient long enough.

"Then suspend me." Callen walked around Hetty and exited the room. He climbed down the stairs to see Nate waiting for him. He fiend a smile. "Hey Nate. Good to see you again. How long are you in town this time?"

Hetty watched from the first floor with interest. Callen was good as masking his emotions, but she knew this case had evoked feelings he did not wish to experience again.

"Hey Callen. As long as I am needed." Nate stood in front of the smaller man prepared for Callen's escape.

"Well I've got to go, so I'll see you around then, hey!" Callen took a step back to walk around Nate, but Nate countered his move, which received raised brows from Callen. He was taken aback by Nate's move, yet at the same time was impressed. As a chess man, Callen enjoyed playing the game with his tactical moves. "Can I help you with something Nate?" He remained in denial the fact that Nate was there for him.

"It's not what you can help me with Callen, it's more like how can I help you?" Nate pressed.

"If you want to help me Nate, you can get out of my way." Callen gave Nate a stare down to make him capitulate, to no avail.

"You need to talk Callen, about what happened at the Harrisons'. I'm here to help you..."

"No Nate. You don't want to go there..."

"Why? Tell me Callen. Please! You owe it to the Harrisons if not to your nine year old self."

"Get out of my head Nate. I'm fine." Callen fought hard to rein in his emotions.

"No you're not Callen. Have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently? You're thinner than the last time I saw you, you have dark circles under your eyes, you are clearly not sleeping." Nate evaluated.

"I never sleep Nate. Everyone knows that..."

"Then it must be something bad for you to look like crap, even for you Callen." Nate had grown guts since he was last at the Office of Special Projects.

"Let's sit. You could use some coffee, am I right?" Callen looked down at his desk and noticed a take away cup of coffee.

"Stooped down to bribing patients now have we doc?" Nate ignored Callen's retort.

Callen picked up the cup and sipped the coffee, savouring the flavour as he swallowed. "Thanks!" He appreciated Nate's thoughtfulness, it was just he was so tired and irritable at the moment. And now this case was nearly pushing him over the edge of his limits for control.

"Let's start with the two months you lived with the Harrisons'." Nate took Callen's decision to sit at his desk as a sign that he was willing to talk.

Callen continued to look at his coffee watching the steam escape from the hole in the top of the lid. He seemed relaxed, but the reality was he was afraid. It was rare for him to show this emotion. He looked up and saw Hetty looking down. Hetty nodded her head and walked back into Ops to leave them alone. "They were really nice. Good people. I was happy for the first time since I could remember. They made me feel like I was worth something. They never raised their voices or hurt me in any way. I even enjoyed school for once." Callen smiled at the fond memories he had while he lived at the Harrisons'.

"What changed?" Nate urged him on calmly.

Callen stood and paced the bull pen. His whole demeanour changed as the memories came flooding back. He stopped and firmly gripped the screen that bordered their desks. Colour left Callen's face as fear took over.

Nate stood and walked over to him with concern etched in his face. "Callen, what happened?"

"Bad men with guns." Callen spoke as if he was in a trance. "They broke into the house shouting in a language only I could understand. They were angry at me. They wanted to kill me. I climbed out my bedroom window and ran as fast as I could. They chased after me, but I hid in a bush..." Callen's breathing escalated as the memory evoked the fear he felt that night, thirty-four years earlier.

Nate gently placed his hand on Callen's arm. "But you got away Callen. You're safe. You are no longer nine and afraid."

Callen caught Nate's eyes as he returned to the present. "Yes I am." He calmed his breathing and returned to his desk. "So do you think what happened to the Harrisons' has anything to do with me?"

"It's a possibility. Whoever they were, they may have returned to see if the Harrisons' had any information about you, or heard from you since you left that night. Do you remember what language the men spoke?" Nate was impressed with the breakthrough he had achieved with Callen thus far.

"Russian." Callen replied. "But what I don't understand is how I even knew the language when I was nine? It was six years later when Ilena Rostoff taught me Russian."

"Perhaps you remembered it from when you were with your parents." Nate suggested. It made sense now they knew that Callen's Father was Russian. "Tragedy plays funny tricks on our minds. It tends to shut down memories that remind us of something bad that's happened."

"Maybe! But how did they know how to find me there in the first place? I still can't figure out who they were and why they were after me. We know about the Comescus and the blood feud they had with my family, but the Russians also?" It was something Callen had tried hard to solve for most of his life.

"Enemies of your Father's?" Nate asked.

"I wouldn't know. I mean we were placed under our Mother's family name, so it would have been hard for enemies of my Father's to find us." Callen concluded.

"Whoever they are and for whatever reason, I believe they have returned. It seems too much of a coincidence for it not to be." Nate evaluated the two events and decided on his decision that this was a repeat of Operation Comescu. This time however, they had no clue who Callen's enemies were. "Could Arkady Kolcheck help you out on this one Callen?"

"I still owe him a favour from the last time a Comescu tried to kill me. I'll try." Callen stood back up and nodded over to Nate. "Not bad for one early morning start, hey doc?"

"I think the bribe helped." Nate joked, relieved Callen had capitulated and told him what had happened. It all made sense on why he didn't sleep much. Too much fear, bad memories and ghosts from his past haunted his dreams. He hoped Callen's chat with him might alleviate some of what haunted him at night and get more sleep, than he was getting beforehand.

It was just after eight in the morning when Callen pulled up outside Arkady Kolcheck's mansion. The air was still with no breeze, quieter than normal, Callen realised, so he grabbed his weapon and had it ready at hand. He moved swiftly around the side of the house to the rear where he found his old friend reading the newspaper while having his breakfast out by the pool.

"This is how you greet an old friend Callen? Don't you think it's becoming too much of a habit?" He studied the younger man before him closely. "You not sleeping again?" He had seen Callen like this once before, when they worked together in Russia. The toll it took on Callen back then almost cost him his life. If it wasn't for Agent Gibbs, Callen would be dead. That was certain. "Come and sit with me and eat some food. You look like you could use some fattening up." Arkady rubbed his expanding belly as he tucked into some more bacon and eggs for his breakfast.

"I thought you were on a diet?" Callen asked him, hoping to deflect the subject off himself.

"I was, but all this stress you put me under, it takes a toll on my emotional health, so I comfort eat." Arkady smiled as he jested with Callen.

"I know a shrink if you want to talk to someone about it!" Callen quipped in return.

"Stick with your current job Callen, you'll never make a good comedian." Arkady tried hard to keep the conversation light, so it didn't effect his digestion.

"I'll leave that for you." Callen's stomach grumbled, so he tucked into the food on the table.

Arkady watched amused at how hungry Callen was. "You need a good woman to cook, for you Callen. When are you going to settle down?"

"No one would want me with all my baggage. Plus no one is safe if they are associated with me." Callen replied deadpanned.

"Don't I know it." Arkady chuckled. "I have to keep finding new bodyguards to protect me. The old ones keep getting killed." Although part of that fact was true, it had nothing to do with Callen. He had saved his life once when he turned up with his partner. "Where is that giant teddy bear of a partner of yours? He is still alive isn't he?"

"Yes Sam's fine. He's tied up working a case at the moment."

"Without you?" Arkady noticed the brightness leave his cornflour blue irises. "Is everything ok Callen?" Concern returned with the sincerity the old Russian held for Callen.

"Not sure. It seems some Russians want me dead." Callen admitted.

"Well it won't be the first time..."

"I was nine when they first came to kill me. It appears they're back."

"What? Hang on a minute. Russians came after you when you were nine? How come this is the first time I am hearing of it?" Arkady suddenly lost his appetite.

Callen squinted his eyes as he tried to figure out Arkady's reaction to this news. "Why does what happened to me when I was nine bother you now Arkady?"

"Well, um..I thought we were friends and friends tell each other things..."

"Tell me what you know Arkady." Callen pulled his weapon out and aimed it at the former KGB. "All of it." Callen's lack of trust issues made him paranoid and suspicious of everyone he met. But Arkady was an old friend and they usually spent time dancing around each other...but this reaction from him caught Callen off guard.

"Okay! Okay!" Arkady waved his hands in surrender. "Just remove that gun from me. Please!"

Callen turned the safety switch back on his weapon and placed it into the rear of his jean's waistband. "I'm waiting."

Arkady sighed. "He's not going to like it one bit." He began.

Callen tilted his head confused. "Who?"

"Your Father. I promised him a long time ago to make sure I never told you that I knew him. That you and I would become friends and it was a good cover for me to watch out for you." Arkady finally admitted.

"You told me you didn't know my Father..." Callen's voice raised with anger towards the Russian.

"I had promised Nikita. I couldn't go back on a promise." Arkady released a heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "But it doesn't matter now. If Russians have come after you, it's for revenge on your Father. It's why you were placed in different orphanages, you and your sister. We thought you were safe with your Mother's family name...we had no idea about the Comescu blood feud. Then Amelia drowned and you moved between so many foster families, it broke your Father's heart..."

"Where is he? Arkady. I want to know the truth..."

"He is hiding from his enemies. There are few he trusts. Just like you." Arkady laughed at the similarity of Father and son. "I cannot tell you where he is. He will kill me if I do."

"Why? Why hide from me all these years and ask Rhinehart and yourself to look out for me? I needed him after my Mom was killed. Amy and I both did." Callen questioned. "Do you know my name? What my real name is? What the G stands for?"

"I think that's something for your Father to tell you." Arkady hoped Callen would accept his answer.

"Do you or don't you know?" Callen raised his voice again. "It's a simple yes or now answer Arkady. Don't you think I deserve to know who I am?"

"Yes you do Callen. But I cannot tell you. Your Father hid it from me. He said you were safer not knowing who you were."

"Don't you think it's too late for that? My Father's enemies found me when I was nine. I ran away from a caring Foster Family because of them. I had to hide far away from them to keep them safe and myself. And now they are back. The same Foster parents I had when I was nine, were invaded by Russian gunmen, looking for me. I want to know who they are, and right now. I'm not leaving until I have the answers I came for." His patience had run out. The bad memory from that night haunted him every night over the past month. He was curious as to why it had returned after filing it away such a long time ago.

"I will make contact. But you might be here a while waiting for a reply." Arkady stood up and walked inside to his study, where he shut the door for privacy.

"Nik. He's here and wants answers. Russians want him dead and he wants to know who they are. He knows I know you...It's too late for that. They found him when he was nine. He ran away from the family who cared for him to keep them safe. He is definitely your son. But they are back looking for him. He needs to know who he is up against." Arkady braced himself for Nikita's outburst, but received none.

"Then I have hidden him away from me for nothing." Nikita Reznikov resigned. "I will come to you. I'll be there in two hours. It's time my son knows who I am."

The call was quick, but successful. Arkady stood up from his desk and shook his head as he saw Callen leaning on the door frame. "You give me a heart attack sneaking up on me like that."

"I wasn't sneaking." Callen tried to reason. "What did he say?"

"He'll be here in two hours." Arkday ran across the room as Callen slumped to the floor. "Oh heck Callen. What am I going to do with you now?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Haunted Dreams**

By Bh72

_Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to NCIS Los Angeles or it's characters. I am grateful to be able to use them for this story._

_Thank you for all your wonderful and encouraging reviews._

**Chapter 2**

**Arkady's mansion...**

Arkady called for two of his body guards to come and carry Callen to the guest bedroom next to his study. After they had placed him on the bed, he pulled his boots off and placed the covers over him. "Sleep well my friend. Soon you will have your answers." He worried over Callen, that was a fact, although he tried to be nonchalant with the younger man, that it was all business. Callen looked exhausted and he knew the younger man had fainted from disbelief of finally getting to meet his Father and from exhaustion.

Callen stirred and tried to sit up. He looked around the unfamiliar room confused. He was in a bed, a nice firm bed, he realised. Just how he liked it. The paintings and furnishings were from old money, but he couldn't remember how he got there, nor why he was in a bed. He looked at his watch and was surprised it was almost noon. 'I don't sleep. Why was I sleeping in the day?' He heard two people talking far away and wondered who they were. They were speaking in Russian, that he could tell. He went to pull his weapon out of his jean's waistband, only to find it was no longer there. 'Crap!'

**Boat shed...**

As Hetty entered the boat shed, Mr and Mrs Harrison looked up surprised, but also relieved to see a familiar face. "Miss Lange." Roy Harrison stood to shake the smaller woman's hand. "Is this to do with Callen?"

Sam, Kensi and Deeks gave each other confused looks over Roy Harrison's comment, but didn't say a word.

"Mr Hanna." Hetty turned to the former Navy SEAL. "Your partner needs you." She handed him a piece of paper on where to find him.

Sam looked at the note and nodded as he left for Arkady's. He sighed as he climbed into his challenger, wondering what kind of reception the former KGB would give him this time. At least Callen was there to hold off any tensions the two men felt towards each other. If the truth would ever be told it was that Sam didn't trust the Russian and he worried about the danger Arkady would put Callen in.

Hetty turned to the junior members of her team. "Miss Blye, Mr Deeks, would you mind giving us a few moments please."

"Sure." Both replied and left the building.

"Let's get some coffee Fern. We need it after last night." Deeks suggested.

"Good idea." They only had a short drive to the local cafe.

"Miss Lange, why were these men at our house last night?" Susan Harrison asked. "We haven't seen Callen for..."

"Thirty-four years." Hetty answered for her. "Mr Callen ran away from your house due to some Russians wanting to kill him. He said he needed to keep you safe as well as himself. This explains why he left so suddenly. But why didn't you tell me about the gunmen all those years ago? I've only just found out this piece of information from Mr Callen this morning."

"We were afraid. We were told not to tell anyone or they would be back to kill us." Roy admitted. "I'm sorry we kept this from you. He was a good kid, bright. He just needed someone to love him. And we did. We had no idea he had heard those men. They spoke in a foreign language, until they warned us in English not to tell. We didn't know he could understand them either. Poor boy. He must have been so afraid..." Roy stopped from the emotion that rippled through him, thinking over the young Callen being scared for his life.

Tears ran down Susan's face. "We thought we had done something wrong to cause him to run away. We didn't know it was because he understood what these men had said." Roy moved closer to console his wife of fifty years. Susan looked over at Hetty. "We thought he might have been embarrassed to live with us, seeing we're..."

"Mrs Harrison. That would never have entered the boy's mind. The agent that was here with you, Mr Hanna. He is Mr Callen's partner. They are like brothers. Mr Hanna is the closest person Mr Callen has to family. He would never have been embarrassed by your skin colour."

"Callen works for you? He's a Federal Agent?" Roy asked surprised. He and Susan had often talked about the boy they had loved like a son, but lost so soon after finding him. They had never fostered another child after Callen. It broke their hearts to go through getting attached to another child and risk losing them again.

"Yes he is. One of the best." Hetty told them with pride as if he was her own son. She regretted not finding out the truth behind what had happened when Callen had run away from the Harrisons' now. Callen's life could have turned out so differently if only she had tried harder. But Callen had been a troubled boy, a difficult child. She felt bad not seeing why this was so. It explained why he kept his distance from any future Foster families, except for the Rostoff's. For some unknown reason he chose to relax around them and became happy again. But for another unexplained reason Callen ran away after three months of being happy. Did the same thing happen to him at the Rostoff's? Unfortunately, none of the Rostoffs' were alive to confirm this. She would have to ask Nate to press the subject with Callen.

"But why would some Russians want him dead? He was so young back then." Roy inquired.

"Enemies of his Father." Hetty revealed. "We only found out recently who his Father was. A Russian KGB, who helped Germans flee East Germany, to the US. He was a hero, but was arrested by his government for helping these people. I only knew his Mother. As far as we were concerned, he was an orphan." It was all she could divulge to this couple about the reason why the Russians were after him. Anything more was either unknown or classified.

**Arkady's mansion...**

Callen crept quietly down the corridor and found the kitchen unoccupied. He could still hear the men talking, and realised he was in Arkady's house. He suddenly remembered eating breakfast with his old friend, but why was he there in the first place? He pulled Arkady's spare gun out of the fridge and switched off the safety switch. He recognised Arkady's voice, but the other, he did not. Or did he?

_"Приходите Гэва, давайте удивить своих мать и сестра с этих рыб мы поймали сегодня. Мы можем есть праздник с этими бас. Белая мякоть будет таять во рту." [Come Gav, let's surprise your Mother and sister with these fish we caught today. We can eat a feast with these bass. The white flesh will melt in our mouths]_

_"Подожди папа. Мои ноги немного." [Wait up Papa. My legs are little]_

_Nikita Alexander Reznikov turned and laughed at his son as he ran after him carrying his own fishing rod and the bait box._

"Papa?" Callen held Arkady's gun firmly out front as he exited the kitchen to the rear patio.

Arkady and Nikita were startled to see Callen pointing a gun at them. Both men were so caught up in their heated discussion, neither saw him come out back until they heard him speak.

"I knew I should have hidden my gun somewhere different after you saw my hiding place." Arkady told him. "Now Callen, please put it away."

Nikita stood still, cerulean orbs stared back at him. "мой сын." [My son]

Callen studied the man before him for any resemblance to himself. His eyes were the same blue eyes as his and his sister's. But his face...he wasn't sure. It had been so long ago. He tightened his eyes shut to force a memory back of himself with his Father. He opened them again, but his vision was blurred. He steadied the weapon on the man before him. "How do I know you are who you say you are?"

"I am Nikita Alexander Reznikov, your Father." Nikita admitted to his son.

"You're not the first man to say that to me." Callen told him. "Do you think I am going to just accept you to be my Father just like that?"

"See I told you." Arkady spoke up. "He has trust issues just like you. Always greets me holding a gun pointed at me too."

Nikita raised his brow amused by this news. "It seems that some traits shine through more than others." He studied his son, whom he had Michael Rhinehart and Arkady keep tabs on for him over the years. "You've turned out well my son. Strong, handsome and brilliant at what you do. Just like your Mother. She had more courage than me." Nikita's eyes welled at the thought of his dead wife and finally being reunited with his son. "I am so sorry my son for leaving you. It wasn't safe, I thought it was the safest thing to do, to hide you..."

Callen's heart shattered as he saw the man before him break down with tears. Nikita fell to his knees and cried. "Please forgive me Gavriil."

"What did you call me?" Callen dropped the gun onto the table and moved towards him. No one would fall down with emotion if he wasn't really his Father. "Papa?"

"Gavriil. Gavriil Alexander Reznikov. The name your Mother and I gave you when you were born. We were living in a small village on the Black Sea near the Russian-Ukraine border, Vaselo-Voznesenka. I had managed to get your Mother, sister and you across into Russia after the horrible floods that destroyed our home in Romania. You were only two months old when the floods came. I decided it was time to take my family home to Mother Russia. Your Mother was fluent in Russian as well as Romani and English, so moving there wasn't a problem. We had taught Amelia all three languages also, which she thrived on. But I was being hunted down by my own people. My work smuggling Germans out of East Germany into the United States was leaked and I was hunted by my own Government. Men I had worked along side gave me up and I had to flee. I told your Mother to take you back to her home in the US, but she had to take you back into Romania for her contacts to get you out. We had no idea about the Comescus. Then word came to me that she was killed. Arkady found you and Amelia and smuggled you into the US. He placed you both on different sides of the country for your safety, yet you still ended up here in Los Angeles."

"You did that?" Callen turned and saw an embarrassed Arkady shrug his shoulders.

"It was nothing." Arkady tried to make out it was nothing, but the fact was, it gave him purpose to his life. Knowing he had helped his dear friend out by saving his children. "I never saw you again until you worked with me many years later. I didn't realise you had become a Federal Agent like your Mother until you arrived in Moscow. Michael Rhinehart had lost track of you once you left the Foster Care System, so it was then that your Father asked me to keep tabs on you. Why else do you think I moved to Los Angeles?"

"You moved here for me?" Callen narrowed his eyes as he mulled over all that his Father and Arkady told him.

"No, for the beautiful women." Arkady tried to cover his true feelings for the younger man with humour.

"My name is Gavriil? But you called me Gav?" Callen inquired of his Father. He tried his name over again in his head. Finally after thirty-eight years of being separated from his Father, he was reunited again. The emotions were running high for both men.

"You remember?" Nikita asked his son.

Callen nodded. "Only just now...when I heard your voice. At first I thought it was unfamiliar, but then a memory came back. We had just been fishing and caught some bass for dinner."

Tears poured down Nikita's and Callen's faces. Nikita wrapped his arms around his son's body and hugged him. "It's been too long without you my son. Too long. Please forgive me?"

"Да папа." [Yes Papa]. Callen replied. "I forgive you."

Sam pulled up outside Arkady's mansion and rang the door bell. A bodyguard answered and immediately let him in, without a word.

"Hello to you too." Sam grumbled. He followed him through the house to the back patio and was taken aback at the scene in front of him. He looked to Arkady for some form of explanation, but the former KGB had mist in his eyes as he watched Father and son reunite.

"G! You good?" He was unsure of the situation, seeing his partner wrapped in another man's arms crying. He felt he had intruded, but could find no words to express what he saw.

Callen pulled himself away from his Father and turned to him. "Sam? What are you doing here?" He felt exposed to be found in such a state by his partner. Yes they were close, like brothers, but he had never let his walls down in front of others before. He rose to his feet and placed his hand out to help his Father up. Nikita rose beside his son, still shaken by the event.

"Hetty sent me here. Said you needed me..." Sam stopped speaking as he saw another set of blue orbs stare back at him. "You found him? Your Father."

"Yes!" Callen replied in a husky voice, choked by the emotion that still remained in his system.

"We should celebrate!" Arkady announced.

Sam glared at the Russian. "You knew who G's Father was all this time, yet you said nothing?" He moved towards him and pushed him into the pool.

"Sam! It's alright. Arkady didn't do anything wrong. Please." Callen tried to appease him.

"He knew and kept it from you G. I knew he couldn't be trusted." Sam's anger stayed, as he watched Arkady climb out dripping wet from the pool.

"You should put a leash on your partner Callen. Look at my suit!" Arkady wiped the water from his face with a towel given to him by one of his body guards.

Nikita roared out laughing at his old and dearest friend.

"You think this is funny?" Arkady asked him. "This is all your fault that he does not like me."

"Oh Arkady, lighten up." Nikita told him. "Sam here is only looking out for his partner, just like you have been doing for me all these years. Come, it's time you two made up, don't you think? You both have Gavriil's best interests at heart."

Sam raised his brow towards his partner. " Gavriil?" He inquired.

Callen nodded and grinned from ear to ear. "Yep! Sam, I would like you to meet my Father, Nikita Alexander Reznikov." Callen saw the suspicion his partner's face. "The real one." He added.

"Hello Sam. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard many things about you from Arkady here. He likes you really!" Nikita held his hand out to the Agent.

"Pleased to meet you too Sir." Sam accepted Nikita's hand.

"Now that the introductions are over, we need to discuss these men who keep coming for you." Nikita placed his hand on his son's shoulder and led him inside to talk. " Come Sam. I need you to have my son's back on this."


	3. Chapter 3

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to NCIS Los Angeles or it's characters. I am grateful to be able to use them for this story._

_Sorry for the delay. Thanks for your patience and reviews so far. More coming soon._

**Chapter 3**

**Office of Special Projects...**

Henrietta Lange paced the floor of her office as she waited to hear from Sam. She had left five messages on his cell, with no reply. She worried over whether he and Callen were safe. She picked up her phone and dialled Ops.

"Mr Beale, can you please search for Mr Callen and Mr Hanna. Mr Hanna is not returning my calls." Hetty used all her strength to remain emotionless in her speech, although worry consumed her.

"On it Hetty." She could hear her Technical Operator typing away on his keyboard. "They're both at Arkady's."

"Thank you Mr Beale." Although the news gave her some peace, it still didn't appease her completely.

**Arkady's mansion...**

Sam pressed the do not disturb button on his cell to prevent any further interruptions. Five calls from Hetty, apparently their Operations Manager was worried. But he didn't know what to say to the old spy. All he had learned so far that morning, was not his news to tell her. He looked over at his partner of seven years and wondered what was going through his head. Finally after thirty-eight years he was reunited with his Father. Trying to get your head around finding out that your Father was a Russian KGB was one thing, but to also meet him again after so long and finally get your answer to what the G stood for, must be pushing Callen to his limits. He had noticed the dark circles under his partner's eyes over the past month and wondered what it was that was keeping him awake at night. Whenever he had pressed the issue, Callen had snapped at him, clearly he had become irritable from no sleep. Yet now his partner sat on the adjoining couch with his Father and looked refresh. How did he manage to do it, amazed Sam sometimes.

"Who are these enemies of yours Papa? If your government arrested you, why would they go looking for me?" Callen's mind had been working on fast speed trying to understand who these men worked for, why they wanted him dead back when he was only nine and fourteen and again thirty-four years later. Between the enemies of his Mother's and Father's, why didn't he ever change his name permanently, to hide from them all, he wondered. Life would have been so much more simpler.

"It goes back to when I met your Mother. She was undercover for her government trying to get intel and bring down Roman Stelmakh, a Russian arms dealer. She witnessed me help a family from Eastern Germany to escape from behind the Iron Curtain with new identities and a new life in America. She told me she could help me, after revealing to me her true identity. We worked well together and fell in love. I in turn helped her find details of the Stelmakh family business. We eloped and moved to Romania. Amelia was born and life was good for the three of us. I found work locally as a guise to hide behind for my real work in helping people get out of Eastern Germany. Soon after you were born, there were some terrible floods. The weather was unusually warm for spring, melting the snow on the mountains quicker than usual, combined with a record amount of rain also. We lost our house, so we fled into Russia. We set up base in a small fishing village on the Black Sea, in Vaselo-Voznesenka, and all was well until some men whom I had worked with in the KGB turned against me. They told our government about the work I was doing. In the end, Arkady was the only friend I had left whom I could trust. Michael Rhinehart felt obliged to keep an eye on you and your sister..." Nikita broke down in tears over his sweet and beautiful daughter.

Callen rested his hand on his Father's shoulders as he cried over Amelia.

"Word got out to Roman Stelmakh that I had aided a CIA operative and that we had two children together. They must have found out from the Comescus who your Mother really was, for them to have found you under your Mother's family name. I had no idea. If I had known, I would have hidden you with me. I am so sorry my son." Nikita pulled his son into a hug again. The emotional reunion was still strong for both men.

Callen looked over at his partner. "Is there any way we can get Nell in on this for us, without Hetty knowing?" Nell was their best bet. Eric might break under Hetty's gorgon stare.

"I'll ring her." Sam walked outside and leaned on his challenger. He observed his surroundings, only too aware that he was being watched. Outside of Arkady's property a car drove too slowly for someone just passing by. Sam ducked behind his car for cover, just in case. For now, it passed by with no incident. He grabbed the camera from the front seat and began snapping images of the car. He sent them to Nell and Callen. "Nell! I've sent through some images of a vehicle that slowly drove by Arkady's place. Can you please keep this between you, G and I?"

**Office of Special Projects...**

Nell typed away on her tablet as Sam's images came through. She looked up to ensure Hetty didn't sneak up from behind her. For now, she knew she was still at the boat shed. But one never assumed, when it came to Hetty. "I'm downstairs alone, so we're good."

Sam sighed with relief. He was already tense on the situation for his partner. "G needs your help Nell. For your eyes and ears only."

"Uh-huh!" She tried to not appear concerned as she listened to Sam on the other end of the call.

"Can you research anyone who has entered the country from Russia with connections to the Stelmakh family? And anything you can find on the family, in particular Roman Stelmakh." Sam paused knowing the next question might be a concern. "Is it possible for you to find a file in the CIA's system that Clara Callen worked on when she went undercover inside the Stelmakhs'?

"I'll give it a try Sam. No promises."

"Thanks Nell. We owe you." Sam disconnected the call and reentered the mansion.

"No problem. I'll hold you to it." Nell grinned as she typed away, knowing Sam and Callen would feel obliged to take her out for dinner to thank her for this favour. It made her feel part of the team. They would also provide one on one training in the gym after hours, when Eric wasn't around to see them. She had to keep her desire to spend more time out in the field hidden from her partner, knowing he would freak out. She prided herself on her ability to keep secrets, even from her mentor, Henrietta Lange.

Nell widened her eyes as she searched for intel on the Stelmakh family. Not only was Roman the head of the family and a well known arms dealer, he was known for kidnappings, torture, and child slavery, he had killed all residents of ten villages to date, with more genocide she was sure hadn't been pinned on him yet. She ran a code to mask her entering Langely's system and was surprised how easy the file was to access. She quickly ghost copied the file and exited before she could be traced. She placed it onto her tablet, in hope no one else would discover what she had. She scanned through the intel and was amazed at all the intel Clara Callen had managed to collect on the family. Photos and day to day details on what each member of the family did. She sent what she thought would interest Sam and Callen to Sam's phone, as she knew Hetty would not want Callen on this case.

Her cell beeped with a quick message from Sam. "Thanks Nell, you're a legend." She smiled satisfied on her successful search. Now to search on the car Sam had images of. The windows were tinted, so she couldn't make out the occupants for visual matching. But if she could find where the car originated, she might be able to catch video footage of them before they entered the car. It was going to be a long day.

**Harrisons' home...**

Kensi and Deeks went over every entry access point to the house with powder looking for fingerprints. "Nothing." Kensi complained. "These men are professionals. They wore gloves and coveralls to hide their identities. Well mastered..."

"Why thank you Watson for your analysis there." Deeks butted in.

Kensi looked over to her partner and glared at him. "Really? You think that you're Sherlock and I'm Watson?" She placed her hands on her hips to emphasise her dislike to his portrayal of them.

"Well I am the Detective here, my dear Watson." Deeks smirked as he spotted some muddy shoe prints beside the footpath. He aimed the camera and fired the shot to send the images through to Eric.

"Eric, I've just sent you some shoe prints found on the garden bed, beside the path out front. It's possible it's from one of our intruders." Deeks informed him.

Kensi spotted someone watching them. To get a better look she grabbed Deeks hand and twisted it behind him. "Ouch! Okay Fern, if you want to be Sherlock, then you can be Sherlock."

Kensi released his hand and assessed the damage she had caused. "I'll take a photo of your hand incase you want to press charges for causing you harm." She looked serious, but it was a guise, as she snapped images of the stranger lurking on the road.

"You what?" Deeks face was a mixture of pain and confusion. "I wouldn't do that Fern. Not to you honey!"

"You are definitely Sherlock." Kensi stood up straight and gave her partner a deadpanned expression. "Everyone knows Sherlock was unbalanced. Watson was the professional between the two."

"He was brilliant. A highly skilled operator. His genius was misunderstood." Deeks tried to reason. He was still confused by his partner's behaviour. He followed her to their silver SUV and allowed her to drive. Evidently, she was in no mood today for some fun. "Now are you going explain what that was all about?"

"We were being watched. I used my tact to get a better look at them without them knowing." She turned and grinned at her partner. "You did well Sherlock. As usual Watson does all the legwork and Sherlock takes all the glory."

"I found the shoe prints!" He reasoned.

"That you did." Kensi made some turns and drove around a block to ensure they weren't being followed before arriving back at the mission.

The two partners entered the old Spanish style water plant administration building and walked straight up to Ops. "Did you find a match on the stranger lurking at the house?" Kensi asked Eric. She looked around for Nell, surprised she wasn't there. "Where's Nell?"

"Working down stairs today." Eric replied solemnly.

"Did you two have a fight?" Deeks asked him, concerned.

"I might have said a few things over me not wanting her to work in the field again." Eric admitted, shamefully.

"Oh Eric. You know how much it means to Nell to go out in the field. You can't lock her up in here for the rest of her life." Kensi told him. "I'm sure she wouldn't hold you back if you wanted to go out into the field."

Eric shuddered. "No thanks. I much prefer the safety of Ops." He typed on his keyboard when his computer pinged. "We've got a hit." He brought the images up on the big screen. "Anatoli Chirkoff." Eric looked at the particulars of their man. "It seams he's linked with the underworld in Russia. Known ties to Sasha Orborski."

"Whose he?" Kensi asked, curious, as she had never heard of this family name before.

Eric quickly typed on his keyboard. "Not sure. But the CIA have him on their watch list. I'll have to ask Hetty if she can gain us access to Langley's file on these two men. Don't hold your breath though."

"Thanks Eric. This man definitely has ties to what happened to the Harrisons'."

Kensi and Deeks left Eric and walked downstairs to the bull pen. They each sat at their desks, wondering where the other two are. Nate Getz stood at the kitchenette making himself a coffee. He was tired from his long flight from his latest undisclosed location.

"Nate! What are you doing here?" Kensi jumped to her feet and hugged her dear old friend.

"Hey Kens, Deeks. Hetty wanted me here. So here I am." Nate smiled at the two, curious as he watched their body language with each other. 'Hmm! Something's going on here.' He mused.

"Callen." Kensi and Deeks answered in unison.

Nate laughed at them. "You two..." He pointed his finger at them both. "Are very cute together. Anything you have to tell me?" He jested.

"Well Deeks here thinks that he's Sherlock and that I'm Watson. I've deliberated and concluded he's right. I'm the sane one in this partnership." Kensi grinned at Deeks before placing her attention back to Nate.

"He was just misunderstood because of his brilliance." Deeks returned to justify his cause for Sherlock Holmes once again.

"Ha! You two should get a room." Nate shook his head laughing as he exited the bull pen. The tension between them was intense. Nell was right in her conclusion that something was definitely going on between these two.

Kensi leant on her desk with her mouth agape. Shocked over Nate's suggestion.

Deeks sat at his desk like a puppy, grinning from ear to ear.

"Careful Deeks. I might have to put a leash on you." Kensi quipped, hoping to calm him down. He was too excited at the thought of them getting a room. She had tried hard to keep things at bay between them, but knew it was only a matter of time. Especially after that kiss. She blushed at the memory.

"Hmm! Kinky." Deeks replied. Kensi walked over to him and punched his arm. "Ouch! What's with you today? That's twice this morning you've hurt me."

Nate observed them from the lounge area, intrigued by their reactions, as he sipped his coffee. 'Obviously nothing yet. But soon. Kensi just needs to trust Deeks with her heart.' On that note he thought about the box that he had suggested she give Deeks. It was an exercise of trust for her to give something to her partner. A box with all that he ever wanted inside. He was surprised Deeks hadn't opened the box, as it sat on top of the cabinet against the wall. 'Deeks has a chance.' Nate smiled to himself. Things were getting interesting around here. He missed the team and their banter. But he thrived on the work he was doing in locations no one knew he went to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to NCIS Los Angeles or it's characters. I am grateful to be able to use them for this story._

_Thanks again for the reviews, they mean so much to me._

**Chapter 4**

**Arkady's mansion...**

Callen looked up as his partner entered the room. "Is everything okay?" He saw the concern in his eyes.

"Someone's casing this place." Sam looked over at Arkady. "Our Analyst is looking into their identities. We need to move G and Nikita now to a safe location."

Callen stood and held his hand to help his Father up off the couch. "We can go to...crap. No we can't. My place was compromised when I was fourteen. Damn! How could I have forgotten?" He looked at Sam. "Hetty thought I was happy there and safe. But I wasn't safe. I need to move again."

"Again? Look G. Are you sure? You've been safe up till now at that address." Sam worried over G's willingness to move again.

"These men came back to find me at the Rostoff's when I was fourteen. It was the first time I had let my guard down since I was nine. I had been there three months, when they turned up. But Mr Rostoff was a tough man and kind. He heard them threaten me, so he pretended I didn't live there with them anymore. Fortunately I was having a sleep over at a friend's that night. He picked me up and drove me to a deserted park, then he hid me in his trunk and drove me far away, before letting me out. He came up with a story about his wife being sick and couldn't look after me anymore. Every time I felt safe, they would find me. I cannot risk it again Sam." Callen's eyes had turned a deeper blue with fear as he admitted to them that these Russians had come for him twice, while he was growing up.

"I am so sorry my son. I had no idea. We must move, if what Sam says is correct. Do you have an idea of where we can go?" Nikita looked to Sam, in hope he had a safe place in mind.

Sam looked to Callen. Neither of them said it, but they both thought the same thing. Nikita and Arkady looked between them intrigued. "Where are you thinking of taking us?" Nikita asked.

"We know of a few houses that are vacant for the moment. It will mean us moving every night." Callen admitted, without revealing too much.

"She'll know." Sam warned. "She always finds out."

"Who are you talking about?" Nikita was very curious indeed.

"Henrietta Lange, of course." Arkady shook his head in disbelief. "Do you two always have a death wish?"

"Only in desperate situations." Callen led his Father out back of the house, with Sam and Arkady following. "Stay here while I bring my car around back. Sam, can you bring Arkady with you in your car?"

"Oh no! I'm not going with him in that...that thing you call a car." Arkady refused.

"I agree, I'm not taking him. Although there is nothing wrong my car." Sam glared at Arkady. "I better head back before Hetty gets suspicious. I've forwarded on the intel from Nell to your cell Gavriil." Sam chuckled at being able to call his partner by his name.

"Gav would do Samuel." Sam turned and saw G's devious smirk spread across his face.

Sam shook his head. "She knows it's for our eyes only. I'll keep Hetty away as long as I can. Call me when you need me." Sam left the three men and headed back to the mission with a mixture of emotions. Concern over his partner's safety, and peace knowing he had finally found his Father and his name. He hoped G would start sleeping properly after they had caught these men.

**Office of Special Projects...**

Hetty looked up as she caught movement in the corner of her eye. "Aah, Mr Hanna. It's about time you showed your face again. You better had a good reason why you've avoided my calls." She stood to make herself look threatening, however, against Sam who stood twice her height, she had no such luck.

"Sorry Hetty. You know how Arkady is. Never trusts me. He took my phone off me." Hetty narrowed her eyes at her senior agent. She knew he was hiding something. That she would get to some time soon. For now she nodded and let him leave her office. But she kept her eyes close on him for any clue on what he was up to.

Her cell beeped and she humphed as she read it. 'Need a few days to get my head straight. See you next week. Callen.'

Sam sighed as he sat down at his desk. Kensi and Deeks looked over to him wondering where Callen was.

"Bugger!" The three agents looked over to Hetty frowning.

"What was that all about?" Kensi lowered her voice as she asked Sam.

"G's asked for some time off. Needs to get his head straight. I mean wouldn't you if the men who wanted you dead at aged nine came after you again?" Sam caught Hetty's eyes and knew she wasn't happy at all. But he also saw worry. Hetty appeared more frail these days. Sam pushed the thought to the rear of his mind and concentrated on the case at hand. "Did you find anything at the Harrisons'?"

"At first we didn't. But then Deeks found some shoe prints and we had someone watching us. Eric's got a hit on the man's identity, but we don't know much. He's tied to a Sasha Orborski, someone the CIA has been watching. We're waiting for Hetty to pull some strings for access." Kensi filled him in. "Where's Callen?"

"Taking some time off." Sam kept all he knew close to his chest.

"Has he gone to the boat shed to see the Harrisons'?" Deeks inquired, curious as to Sam's lack of intel sharing.

"Dunno!" Sam was too focused on searching through the intel Nell had given him to take much notice of what Deeks had asked. He was looking for anything on...'here. Uh-huh! Sasha Orborski. Roman Stelhakh's nephew. His mother is Roman's older sister. That's why the CIA are keeping tabs on him. Interesting.' Sam's mind was some place else, unaware of the looks he was receiving from Kensi and Deeks. Sam quickly sent Nell and Callen an update on the intel Kensi and Deeks had given him.

"Is everything okay Sam?" Kensi prodded. "You seem distracted."

"Oh just Michelle and our daughter, wanting me to take some time off to spend Spring Break next week with them up in Seattle." Sam looked up at Kensi and smiled. "All good!"

Kensi and Deeks knew to drop it. If he was under pressure from his family, then they were going to stay out of it.

**Safe House No.5...**

Callen used a spare key from his glove box and unlocked the back door to the property. He had parked his car around the corner, in hope not to arouse suspicion from Hetty on where he was, or who he was with. He entered the kitchen and held his hand out to his Father and Arkady before moving forward. He needed to double check no one was in there first. He had sent Nell a text asking for info on which safe houses were clear to use. But he had to double check, just in case. He raised his weapon and scoured each room. "Clear." He called from the front of the house. Both men relaxed in the kitchen at the news. Callen walked towards the kitchen again to look for some food. His stomach was grumbling again.

"What are you looking for?" Nikita asked him.

"Food. I'm starving." Satisfied with some pizza he found in the freezer, he turned the oven on and shoved the pizza onto the shelf, closing the door.

"You need to eat better than that my son. American fast food will kill you before an enemy will." Nikita shook his head. "When are you going to find a good woman and settle down Gav? She can cook for you then. Healthy food. Not this American junk you call food."

"We're not in a position to go walking into the local fresh food market and buy the food you are seeking Papa. There are men out there wanting us both dead. Now unless you want that, I suggest we eat what we can find here." Callen avoided talking about the other subject his Father mentioned. There was no future for him in settling down. They would be in too much danger.

"Okay! For now we do it your way. But you need to settle down my son and have babies." Nikita pushed the subject again.

"I have told him, Nik, but he won't listen. Stubborn like you." Arkady added.

"More stubborn than me. I settled down and had a happy life, until..."

Callen shook his head and left the room, needing to check the front of the property again. He didn't want to talk about it. His life was not one to bring children into. So far they were clear. His phone beeped and noticed a message from Sam. He looked further into the intel Nell had procured, to see who they were up against. Sam had seen three men in a car outside Arkady's. Deeks and Kensi, one. A man associated with the nephew of Roman Stelmakh was here in Los Angeles. This news was not good.

"What is wrong my son?" Nikita saw the worry etched in his son's face.

"A man associated with Roman Stelmakh's nephew Sasha Oborski is in Los Angeles. A colleague saw him watching the Harrisons' home." Callen showed his Father the picture of Anatoli.

"He has grown into a dangerous man. The last time I saw him, he was just a baby. A few years older than you. Amelia's age." Nikita swallowed hard on the lump in his throat as his emotions ravaged through him. "I am so sorry my son. I cannot undo all the bad that has happened to our family. I wish I could." Sadness remained in the older man's eyes.

"You know this Anatoli?" Callen asked surprised.

"Yes! He's the son of an old friend. Someone who I thought was a friend." Nikita's body reflected a defeated man, who had spent a major part of his life in hiding.

"I don't blame you Papa. I just wished I had remembered you, Mama and Amelia. Then at least I wouldn't have felt so alone. It wasn't until I met Hannah Lawson, did I remember I had a sister. Then a colleague found the film strip of you pushing Amelia on a swing, in Michael Rhinehart's home. You were in uniform and then you held me in your arms. It wasn't until then, I realised that I was loved.

Nikita pulled his son closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. "I have always loved you my son. You are never alone." His voice was choked with emotion.

**Office of Special Projects...**

Nell couldn't believe her luck as she found the location of where the men had climbed into the vehicle, that Sam had seen. Three men exited the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza and climbed into the said vehicle. There were plenty of cameras outside of the hotel, providing her with facials to put into the system. Now she just had to wait for a match. She stayed put behind the column, where she had been working from all day. So far no one had disturbed her, which she was pleased with. But now that Hetty had returned to the mission, she needed to be prepared for her to walk up behind her and catch her out. She had overheard Deeks and Kensi tell Sam about the man Eric had found, so she knew she could say she was working on finding out more on who Sasha Oborski and Anatoli Chirkoff were. She brought up searches on the two men in question, to cover her if she needed to.

"How are you going today Miss Jones?" Nell turned and smiled at her mentor, glad she was prepared for her appearance.

"Slow." She continued typing on her computer hoping Hetty would leave her in peace. Hoping, but obviously not hard enough, as the Operations manager lingered.

"I asked how you were, Miss Jones, not how you were going on finding these men who held up Mr And Mrs Harrison last night." Hetty remained standing with her hands behind her back. She was known for her patience. So she would wait.

'Drats'. Nell thought to herself. She had not listened to Hetty correctly. Her distraction in helping Sam and Callen was not helping her evade Hetty's questioning. "I'm fine Hetty. How are you?" Nell hoped the deflection off herself might do the trick. But this was Hetty she was dealing with.

"Are you fine? You seem quieter today. Is everything okay between yourself and Mr Beale?" Hetty prodded gently. Nell's body language surmised to the older woman that she was on target with her assumption that something was amiss.

Nell's mind raced through every possible answer, but none came. She turned and faced her boss. "We're fine Hetty. Thanks for your concern. I just needed some space today to think. With the lack of sleep from last night due to this case..."

"You know team work makes dream work Miss Jones. You and Mr Beale may think you work better apart at times like this, but history has proven that you both work better together. Now I'm not forcing you to go upstairs and work alongside your partner, I just want you to think about what I've said." Satisfied she had said her words of wisdom to her protégé, Hetty let her be. 'I'll try Mr Beale. Miss Jones is becoming too good at keeping things close to her chest. He is the weakest link.' She told herself, as she climbed the stairs to question her Technical Operator.

Hetty walked through the sliding doors of Ops and found Eric at his computer searching for information on their two suspects. "How are you today Mr Beale?" She stood back and observed the young man who left her shaking her head on numerous occasions over his dress sense. She had tried to get him to wear long pants in the office, but failed to succeed.

"Um..Hi Hetty." Eric hadn't heard her enter Ops. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Maybe, Mr Beale. I am curious to know why your partner is downstairs and you are upstairs alone." She was straight to the point with the Tech.

"I um...it's all my fault Hetty. I take full blame. I pushed her too far on the subject of me not wanting her to go out into the field again." Eric gulped, waiting for Hetty's disappointment. He was surprised he received no such reaction.

Hetty smiled at Eric, pleased she had achieved her goal. "It's good to see you care so much for your partner. There are many times we wish to do what it takes to protect those we care about. Unfortunately, without locking them away, there is not much we can do." She had tried, oh she had tried, so hard in protecting a certain blue eyed boy from that moment news came through of Clara Callen's shooting. None of of which it seemed had succeeded. The man although he appeared fine to those who saw him, was not as fine as he'd like to be. She had worried more recently, seeing how skinny he had become and the dark shadows that hung under his eyes. She had hoped since she had procured the Rostoff house for him, he would buy a bed and sleep at least six or seven hours each night. At this rate he would be dead before she was. Not something she looked forward to at all.

"Have you managed to gain us access to the CIA file yet Hetty?" Eric brought Hetty's attention back to the present.

"I'm still waiting. If we haven't heard back from Langley in the next half hour, I'll call them again." Eric nodded and returned to his screen. As per usual, Langley were holding up their investigation.

Hetty left Ops and wandered down the stairs, observing her people. She saw Sam had his head in something, much more than Kensi and Deeks. 'Hmm!' She thought back to Nell and Eric. Both seemed just as busy as the other. Nope. She was imagining it. She walked over to the kitchenette and boiled the kettle. She needed some chrysanthemum tea for her nerves today.

**Safe House No.5...**

Callen's phone beeped again. He looked at the intel Nell sent through. He definitely would owe her for this. She had come through in record time for him. He called her.

"Hey Nell. Thanks. This is great. So these men definitely work for the Stelmakhs?" Callen checked with her.

"Yes they do. I am going back further to around midnight to see if they left the hotel to invade the Harrisons'. If they are, you can find them at the Omni Hotel at California Plaza. I'll let you know when I have confirmation. What's you're plan!" She lived on the buzz of the team's action. Her adrenalin was flowing fast through her body, knowing they were going behind Hetty's back on this one.

"Have Sam meet me at Safe House No.5. We'll need more bullets..."

**Office of Special Projects...**

"I'll make sure Sam brings them." She assured him. "Stay safe." She whispered. Nell peeped around the column and caught Sam's attention. Sam slowly moved away from his desk as if he was going off to the gym, before switching directions to where Nell sat.

"You found something?" Sam kept his volume low, so he didn't arouse suspicion.

Nell nodded. "I've sent the details on your phone. He said to meet him at SH5 with plenty of bullets."

Sam squeezed Nell's shoulder. "Thanks."

"I'll confirm if they were the ones at the Harrisons' last night once I've completed the trace back to midnight."

"You're a legend Nell." Sam returned to his route back to the gym and swung around to the armoury. He knew he would need to sign the bullets out and that Hetty would find out soon enough. He'd have to face the music sometime. He just hoped Nell got to the inventory first. He collected all that he needed and managed to slip back out to his car undetected. He felt bad, that he was deceiving Hetty, but this was something he needed to do for his partner. It was a SEAL thing.

**Safe House No.5...**

Callen noticed a figure walk up the side of the house. He swiftly moved into position, with his weapon at the ready. He sighed with relief when he saw his partner. "That was quick. I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Was a good time to escape. Here's the bullets you wanted." Sam handed over three boxes of bullets. "You know Hetty's going to ask why I needed so many bullets."

"Let's hope you can return most of them. I'm not intending on using more than one per suspect." Callen smirked at his partner with that old air of confidence he had missed of late.

Sam smiled back, glad to have his partner back. Their cells both beeped and saw the confirmation from Nell. "Found them. Still at Omni. They are booked under aliases of course. They are in rooms 510 and 511. They were the men who invaded the Harrisons', alongside Anatoli last night. So that's 4 suspects."

Callen read the names out allowed to see if his father recognised any of them. "Isidor Feldberg, Kazimir Petrovski and Pasha Shtein."

Nikita shook his head in disbelief. "I cannot believe it. They are all sons of my old comrades."

Callen placed his hand on his Father's arm. "It's not your fault Papa. We will end this today. It will send a message that we will not be ones to mess with again."

"You have your Mother's confidence Gav. She would be so proud of you, of what you have become. I have missed her every day since we parted." Tears welled up in the older man's eyes. For only a short time he had pure happiness of love and family. None of which he would ever change. Except he would have kept his children closer to him. It had been a heavy toll on him to be so far away from his children and then to lose his daughter.

Callen hugged his Father. It felt so right to be with him. His Father gave him the comfort he had lacked for so long. He held on tight, not wanting to let him go. Both men relished in the hug, but knew they couldn't hold it on for too long. They weren't alone after all. Callen pulled away. "This is our plan."

The four men sat around the dining room table and listened to Callen's plan. It was solid and made sense to go in quietly. Like ghosts. Just like Callen preferred it. They would enter through the rear entrance and borrow some staff uniforms to allow them access to the fifth floor. He dialled Nell's phone to feed her into the plan to aide her in backstopping them. Once all the details were worked out and everyone knew their role, the four men left the safe house.

**Omni Hotel, California Plaza...**

Nell bypassed security and allowed Callen and Sam inside the hotel. Nikita and Arkady stayed in the car for backup. It was important that Nikita was kept out of sight, incase they were discovered and found him in Los Angeles. Sam lead the way, Callen avoided all the security cameras the best he could. They arrived on to the fifth floor and pushed a cart down to the rooms Nell gave them.

Nell watched the senior agents' movements from her station behind the column downstairs. Her pulse quickened as her body became excited from what was about to go down. She worried about them, but since watching them survive hundreds of missions since she'd joined the team, she was confident that they would be fine. Infrared imagery showed her there were two men in both rooms. She passed on the details in comms the agents had inserted into their ears. With silencers on their government issued weapons, they approached room 511 first. Sam placed a camera underneath the door and saw both men had their heads in their laptops. They swiped the room key card and quietly entered the room. Together they moved swiftly and fired one bullet into each man's head. Two bodies slumped in their chairs as Callen and Sam exited the room.

"Two down, two to go." Callen whispered.

Sam repeated under room 510's door with the camera and nodded to his partner. The entrance to the room was clear. Callen swiped the card and the partners moved into the room. A man sat watching television with another in the bathroom, from the details Nell provided them. Callen fired a shot at the man in front of the television, while Sam went through the bedroom, towards the bathroom. A scuffle could be heard as Sam came face to face with Anatoli. The man Kensi had seen at the Harrisons' earlier that day. Callen moved behind and tried to get a clean shot, but struggled with the sudden movements between Sam and Anatoli. Finally Sam punched him hard in the face. Callen fired the last shot. Blood poured onto the carpet in the bathroom doorway, as Sam moved from underneath the now dead Russian. Callen pulled him up and left before they were detected.

"Four men down." Callen whispered.

**Office of Special Projects...**

Nell pleased with the success of the operation which she had a huge hand in, smiled as she typed away on her keyboard. Satisfied she had achieved all that was required of her, she made her way up the stairs into Ops. She sat down beside Eric and smiled. "Hey!"

Eric turned and faced her and returned her smile. "Hey! Um, look...I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I was out of line."

"I know it's because you care, Eric. I mean, that's what friends do. But I really enjoy the thrill when I get to go out into the field. And all I ask from you is to support me on this. Okay?"

"Okay!" Eric smiled, relieved he had apologised and had his partner back in Ops with him.

"So what have you found on the suspects?" Nell Inquired.

"Hetty's on the phone with Langley. She's not happy that they haven't allowed us access yet to the intel." Nell sat straight face as she listened to Eric go on about the brick walls he'd been hitting on this case.

"What about you? Find anything?" Nell nodded. I have found this on the man Kensi saw outside the Harrisons'." It was the only thing she had that she could share with her partner, that she had researched on her own, aside from the intel she had ghost copied from Langley's file. She carried on with her research, as if nothing she had read, witnessed or aided in occurred. Secretly pleased with herself for pulling off the covert operation with Callen and Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to NCIS Los Angeles or it's characters. I am grateful to be able to use them for this story._

_Thanks again for the reviews, they mean so much to me._

**Chapter 5**

**Safe House 5...**

Callen tossed and turned on the strange bed from images that refused to be compartmentalised. He tried to push the guilt that washed over him from dragging Sam and Nell into his own personal vendetta, on the men who hunted him. He was ready to face the consequences if he was found out, but Sam had followed him as a loyal partner would, to end the men who the Stelmakh's had sent to kill him. It was better than being hunted any further. He had been separated from his Father because of this family. He blamed them for his Mother being killed by the Comescus. And his sister's drowning at aged eleven. Every single event Callen had suffered growing up came down to this one family, he concluded. Every lonely birthday and Christmas spent with no loved ones. Every milestone of achievement, unappreciated because he had no one to share it with. The feeling of not belonging, not worthy to be loved had been set deep within him, until he had watched that film strip Deeks had found in Michael Rhinehart's collection of photos of him. It gave him some comfort that he was born out of love and loved very much by Amelia and his parents. He saw it in his Father's and sister's eyes in the film. The emotions that had stirred inside of him from watching one film strip, had brought down every brick he had cemented to create a protection around his heart, throughout his lonely life.

A noise brought him to the present sending Callen into a upright position, holding his gun firmly in both hands. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark, but he felt he wasn't alone.

"Это всего лишь я, мой сын." [It's only me my son]. Nikita saw how on edge his son was, and worried over him. "Что не так мой Гав?" [What is wrong Gav?] "Почему ты на краю все время?" [Why are you on edge all the time?] This was not what he wanted for his son at all. He had wanted a normal life, free from danger.

"Papa!" Callen brought his weapon down and switched the safety back on. "You should have knocked. I could have killed you."

Nikita sat on the edge of his son's bed. "You were having a nightmare. I didn't want to scare you. I had no idea you were such a light sleeper."

Callen turned the lamp on and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He was still adjusting to having his Father with him again. "I've been on my own for too long. I've had to be like this to survive, else I would have been dead a long time ago." He couldn't meet his Father's eyes, as his mind returned to the abuse he had suffered at such a young age from the not so nice Foster Dads, he'd had. He shook the memories and looked up into his Father's matching cerulean orbs. "What are you going to do now? It won't take long for Roman Stelmakh to discover that we've killed his men. They will send more for revenge." Callen had hoped it meant no one else would come for him, but he knew better. From experience, it meant a bloody battle. Hadn't he found that out after killing the Comescus? More came for him. They even killed the man they thought to be his Father. He had no idea if there were more Comescus out there to come after him still. But one thing he knew now, after his Father had told him, that the Comescus and Stelmakhs had dealings with each other and each knew the other's dirty laundry and enemies. It was unfortunate for Callen that due to his families' history, both crime families had become enemies of his, to no fault of his own. He needed to end it all, to ensure no one else that he cared about suffered because of him.

"You take too much burden on yourself, moy syn." Nikita placed his hand on his son's shoulders. "Sam is a good brother to you. You are not alone. And Arkady will help you wherever he can. But I will have to return to my hiding place. I am a danger to you. I want to you remember that I am proud of what you have become and love you very much." Emotions pulsated through his body, causing him to choke on his words. It meant having to leave his son again, which he dreaded with every ounce of breath inside of him.

"Take me with you Papa." Callen grabbed onto his Father's arms as he pleaded with him. "I won't let you go."

"I know that in your heart, you will always have me with you." Nikita placed his hand over his son's heart. "But the life I have lived, is not one I wish for you. You have a good life here, moy syn. A team, friends who have become your family. They will be there for you for whatever you need. Trust them Gav. You will need them."

Callen grabbed his Father close and sobbed like a child. He knew he was going to have to say goodbye to his Father again. His life proved that everyone eventually left him.

Nikita wrapped his arms around his son, as his heart broke into pieces over his son's misfortune. "Never forget that I love you with every breath I take. You are everything to me." He admitted to his son.

**Office of Special Projects...**

The early morning sun provided Nell with enough light to navigate her way from her Mini Cooper to the front door of the old water treatment plant. As she pushed the heavy wooden doors open, the only sound she heard were her own footsteps as she made her way across the stone floor to the bottom of the stairs. Hetty sat at her desk on the phone, with the look of worry in her face. She heard Deeks on his cell, pacing the floor of the bull pen. His face gave her no reassurance either. She ran up the stairs and found Eric typing madly on his keyboard as she entered. She dropped her bag down beside her desk and greeted her partner.

"What's going on?" Eric briefly looked up from his screen to acknowledge her. Her heart quickened as she tried to work out what was happening before Eric filled her in.

"Hey. We finally got access to the CIA file on Chirkoff and Oborski." Nell's eyes were drawn to the images up on the screen as she recognised Anatoli Chirkoff's dead body. She hid her reaction of concern, when Eric brought up images of another three bodies. "Someone's got to Chirkoff first. A staff member from the Omni Hotel at California Plaza called LAPD with news of four dead men who were assassinated inside two rooms on the fifth floor. Their identities were suss, so when fingerprints came through as being on the CIA's watch list, they called Deeks, seeing he was their only point of contact for a Federal Agency. Fortunately, Hetty has permission from the CIA to take point in the case, seeing one was on our suspect list from the Harrisons' invasion the other night. It looks like we've found all four men who held up the Harrisons' and were after Callen." Eric noticed how quiet Nell was, as she looked at the images more closely. "Are you okay Nell?" Eric worried over her. He thought she was effected by the dead bodies, but she shouldn't be by now. They all had seen too many case like this, for it not to be such a shock.

"Yeah! I just didn't expect..." Her voice trailed off as she thought on her real reaction. 'Crap! She had hoped it would have remained an LAPD case and not become theirs. How was she going to work on this case without giving away her inside knowledge that she had aided Sam and Callen in killing them?' Suddenly all colour left her face as guilt consumed her.

"Nell?" Eric grabbed Nell before she collapsed onto the floor. He gently laid her on the floor and raised her feet. He had never seen Nell react in this way before.

Nell squinted from the bright lights of Ops, as she came to. She lifted her head and realised she was on the floor. "What happened?"

Eric gently helped her up onto her chair and handed her a glass of water. She looked at him, straight into his eyes, confused. "You fainted."

Nell blushed from embarrassment. She quickly swallowed the water in the glass before Hetty discovered her drinking in Ops. "Thanks." She took a moment to regather her bearings. "What's the ballistics on the bullets?"

"We haven't heard back yet." Eric advised her. She was relieved at that news. But worry remained in the pit of her stomach over what to do about it. The results would come back to government issued bullets. To their agency and be traced back to their office. That she was sure of. Her job was on the line. Her career was over before it had really started. What was she going to do for the rest of her life? Why was she worrying about that? I'll be rotting in a prison somewhere. "Nell!" Eric gently prodded. "What's going with you today?"

"We need to change the ballistics report Eric." She whispered. She hated to do this, as she had promised Sam the day before that she could cope with keeping it a secret. But now she needed her partner's help.

"What?" Eric's eyes bulged over what she had said.

"Sam and Callen killed them. I helped them with the intel, and bypassing security and removing the camera feeds from the hotel." Eric could see the guilt in her eyes.

"You did all that without Hetty knowing?" Eric was impressed. A smile graced his lips. "I'm so proud of you. That took guts."

"You're not angry with me?" Nell asked surprised.

Eric shook his head. "No. I've done a few for Sam and Callen in the past, but Hetty always knows. Or she finds out eventually. But she's not showed any hint of knowing that Sam and Callen are behind it. Well not yet, anyhow."

Nell felt relieved that Eric understood her predicament and wasn't angry with her. "So can we change the ballistics?"

Eric nodded. He broke into the Coroner's computer system and searched for the files on their suspects. "Here we go." Both sets of eyes read the reports and weren't surprised at the ballistics finding on what bullets and kind of weapons came up. "We can change it to the CIA issued weapons and their bullets. It's always good to get them back on all the crap they've put on us over the years. It took them twelve hours to give us access to the file we wanted. It'll be my pleasure." Eric admitted to Nell. After he had changed all four files and exited the system, he turned to Nell. "So how did you find intel on the suspects?"

Nell bit on her lower lip, before she revealed her transgression. "I broke into Langely and ghost copied the file on the Stelmakh family, in particular, Roman Stelmakh."

"Who?" This was the first time he had heard the name. It wasn't the name he had been given and due to the bodies found at Omni, he hadn't had a chance to read the intel in Sasha Oborski's file.

"Sasha Oborski's uncle. Sam took these photos outside Arkady's house yesterday. I traced the car back to Omni, where I managed to get facials and their identities." Nell took a deep breath and double checked Hetty was not about to sneak up on them. "Callen's mom, Clara went undercover in Romania and moved about. She infiltrated the Stelmakhs organisation that was running from somewhere in Russia, back in the day when they owned all of Ukraine. This is how Clara met Nikita. She caught him smuggling people out of East Germany. She helped him, and in return he helped her get intel on the Stelmakhs. They fell in love. Moved back into Romania where they had Amelia and Callen. When Callen was a baby, they had to leave due to floods back into Russia. All was good until men Nikita had worked with, turned on him. Roman Stelmakh is an ally of the Comescus. It's how they were able to tell the Comescus that Clara Callen was there on the beach that day. Colleagues, men who had been friends of Nikita's told their government about Nikita's people smuggling. These men are the sons of Nikita's old comrades. It's a personal vendetta on Callen and his Father."

Eric's eyes widened and mouth dropped open at all that Nell had told him. "How did you find out all of this?"

"Sam told me some of it. Callen must have got the intel from Arkady. The rest I read in this file." Nell handed the file to Eric for his eyes only. "The CIA knew all of this about Callen's Mom and the danger he lived in, but did nothing to keep him safe. Instead they trained him up to become an assassin for them. "If it wasn't for Hetty..."

"Callen would have died a long time ago." Eric finished for her.

Nell nodded. "Sam doesn't want Hetty worrying about it. He's worried that she's taken on the burden of ensuring Callen's safety, for too long. Callen is well able to save himself." Eric nodded in agreement.

Downstairs in her office, Henrietta Lange poured herself a cup of chrysanthemum tea to soothe her nerves. Although the news that the men who were after Callen were dead had soothed her somewhat, it also created a new anxiety in its place. She knew it would only be a matter of time when Callen's Father's enemies would catch up with the blond haired, blue eye boy she was so fond of. It had bothered her somewhat that she had missed the Russians coming after him at aged nine. Now she wondered if they had come for him again at age fourteen also. No wonder he has trust issues. But what she had tried to protect Callen from, was from himself. Revenge on those who had destroyed his family. She had seen it in his eyes at the Comescu compound. She saw the same fear and hatred in his eyes only the day before. He was avoiding her, telling her he needed time off. He had so many days accrued, that she had no choice but to allow it. But she wondered now had she made the mistake of not keeping a closer watch on her boy? "What have you done now Mr Callen?" She asked softly to herself. She knew he would go after them for revenge. And he had. She had no doubt about it. But what surprised her, was how quick he had accessed the intel and found the men, let alone killed them.

Hetty looked up at her other senior agent, as he shuffled into the mission and dropped his bag beside his desk. He walked over to the kitchenette and made himself a cup of coffee. She stayed put, observing the former SEAL. She had sent him to be with his partner at the former KGB's house. He had avoided her calls. "He knows something." She kept watch to see anything in Sam's eyes that would give her a clue on what was going on. "At least he's not gone lone wolf on this one." She mused. She had told her favourite boy how much she wished for him to trust others, before he left this place. In his personal life as well as at work. It seamed Mr Callen had done just that. Trusted his partner to help him assassinate his enemies. She knew they had worked together on this. The crime scene screamed their M.O. She also knew they'd had help. "Nell!" She concluded. Hetty nodded to herself. "Perhaps I have underestimated the closeness of this team." She held her hands together as if she about to make a prayer, as she watched Kensi join her partner and Sam in the bull pen. The ambience in the bull pen lacked it's usual banter. She spotted Sam look over at his partner's desk on numerous occasions, clearly showing signs of worry for him.

A phone ringing drew Hetty out of her thoughts. "Miss Lange." The familiar voice of Rose was heard from the other end of the phone call. "I've sent the report through to Eric." Rose looked at the files in front of her. She frowned as she read the ballistics report. She rubbed her brow in confusion, surprised it read differently to how she remembered. Obviously she really needed that holiday her boss had forced on her after all. Today was her last day before she headed north into Canada, for a three week vacation.

"Thank you Miss Schwartz. I appreciate your personal handling in this case." Hetty disconnected the call and dialled Ops. "What are the ballistics on the report from the coroner Eric?"

"Rose ascertains the weapons used were Glocks, Hetty. CIA or FBI issued, or perhaps for personal use." Eric added, relieved he had managed to get into the files before Rose sent them through.

Hetty exhaled, relieved to hear the results from Rose Schwartz's findings. Her team used Sigs, not Glocks. She knew Callen didn't own a Glock even for his personal use. "Thank you Mr Beale. I think we can hand this case back over to the CIA. Perhaps this might explain why it took Langley so long to give us the file we wanted on Oborski." She disconnected the call and smiled for the first time in two days. Now she had to find a new safe location and provide new identities for Mr and Mrs Harrison. Just in case more Russians came looking for Callen.

**Venice Beach Motel...**

Callen laid his bedroll he had procured secretly from his house, beside the motel room's bed. He reflected over his emotional morning of saying goodbye so quickly to his Father, too soon after reuniting with him once again. He had visited a realtor to put his house up for sale, without a for sale sign being displayed out front. He needed to move quietly, to not arise suspicion from any Russians who may be lingering in Los Angeles. Arkady had returned to his mansion and promised to pass on any communication between Father and son. He had tried to sleep, to catch up on the missed sleep from the past month. But a new worry formed in the pit of his stomach. That Roman Stelmakh will not stop until he and his Father were dead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I only own the original characters. Shane Brennan and CBS has the pleasure of owning all NCIS Los Angeles Characters._

_Thanks for the reviews and for taking the time to read this story. I appreciate it very much._

_One week later from chapter 5._

**Chapter 6**

**Office of Special Projects...**

Sam huffed, as he dropped his bag beside his desk. He looked over to his partner's desk and noticed the emptiness. No bag, no mug, no partner. The former Navy SEAL had driven to his partner's temporary home to pick him up, as arranged the night before. But when he found no one home, and his car missing from the car park, he'd tried calling and texting. Nothing! He had even called Arkady, incase Callen had gone to see his Father. But Arkady assured him Callen was still in Los Angeles and not to worry about him.

He was about to walk over to their small but ferocious Operations Manager, Henrietta Lange, when he heard the ever familiar whistle from the top of the stairs. He gave Technical Operator Eric a frown as he wandered over, annoyed he wasn't going to have the opportunity to find out where his partner had disappeared to. As he passed Hetty's desk, he noticed the same emptiness there also. He paused. He turned and looked around. A churning gathered in the pit of his stomach, which he noted meant something was wrong. No G, no Hetty. Both had a history of going lone wolf; off the reservation. He shook his head as he continued up the stairs. He hoped Hetty hadn't lost it with his partner, seeing they had left her out of the loop in chasing down Nikita's enemies.

The sliding doors whooshed opened as Agent Sam Hanna entered OPS. He was greeted by Assistant Director Granger, Kensi, Deeks, Nell and Eric. He nodded to advise them he was ready for the briefing. No one appeared to be bothered by the two missing team members, which had him scanning and studying each and everyone of them. His attention was drawn back to the large screen before them, with an image of a familiar face.

"I know her." Sam told them all. He moved closer. Before him, was a woman in her forties, long brunette hair tied up into a pony tail, with piercing blue eyes. "Can you clear the image up Eric?" He asked him. His brain tried to work out where exactly he had seen her before. He turned to Nell. "What happened to her?"

Nell frowned at the senior agent. He seemed distracted, for some reason. She sighed, before retelling him what she had just briefed them. "Two unknown men were trying to kidnap this woman at four-thirty this morning. She was lucky, as her neighbours all came running outside upon hearing her screams and helped her escape them. Her husband and children are out of town visiting his family for spring break. She's in the boat shed with Hetty and Callen. She's pretty shaken up."

"Do we know anything about her? Or who these kidnappers are? Hang on. How come Hetty and G are with her, and I wasn't called?" He was annoyed his partner had kept him out of the loop. It went against everything about him, when it came to being partners. It was more than just having each other's back. It was a connection, that provided a trust and closeness, beyond any other relationship, other than marriage. Hadn't he stood by him recently going behind Hetty's back in helping Callen take his Father's enemies down?

"Her name is Emily Simmons. She's a critical care nurse at UCLA Medical Centre." Nell began to reply.

"She looked after G, when he was shot." Sam stated. He realised now why she was familiar to him. "What about the men?" He looked over to Nell for answers.

"Uh!" Nell looked over to Owen Granger to answer the question.

"It appears they work for the Comescu family in Romania." Granger told him.

Sam's brow raised in surprise. "I thought we ended the family business a few years back?"

"So did we." Sam could see the concern in Granger's eyes.

"There's something you're not telling me Granger!" Sam looked at his boss, frustrated about being kept in the dark. "Why were they after her?" He pointed to the screen.

Granger sighed. He'd had enough of keeping the secrets that he and Hetty had kept over the years. But this one, was one that had been necessary. "Emily Simmons is not her real name." He looked around at the team and saw their curiousness piqued. "Miss Jones, can you please place the photos I gave you earlier, up on the screen?"

Nell nodded and turned to her tablet.

The team looked up on the screen. Images of Emily Simmons' children caught them all off guard. They were speechless.

"Holy Moley!" Deeks breathed out.

Kensi looked over towards Sam and saw surprise in his eyes as well. "Does Callen know?" She asked Granger. She remembered seeing this nurse attending to Callen's needs, while he was fighting for his life. She had been solemn and not very talkative. She looked concerned over him, but thought it was just part of being a nurse looking after critically ill people.

"He does now. Emily Simmons broke it to him this morning. He didn't take it too well." Owen could feel the tension in the room. "Agent Hanna. Can you join your partner in the boat shed please? He's going to need your support in this."

Sam nodded.

"Agent Blye and Detective Deeks. I need the two of you to visit Emily Simmons' home to gather intel from the neighbours and the crime scene. We need to find these men and fast."

Kensi and Deeks followed Sam out the doors and down the stairs. They all had so many questions, but no time to ask them.

**Three hours earlier at Venice Beach Motel...**

Callen had woken early again from another bad dream. This time it wasn't about just about him, but also a girl. Blue eyes, long flowing blond hair, screaming at him.

_Terror was clearly visible in her eyes as she dragged him off the beach. She pulled at his arm, which hurt with the force at which she pulled at him. His small feet tried hard to keep up with her, but he struggled. He fell and grazed his knee on the pavement. She picked him up and carried him, till they came to a tree. "We've got to hide up here. Quickly." She spoke in Russian, her words remained soft, but urgent. The two of them hid up in the old apple tree until dark. He was tired, but too scared to close his eyes, incase he fell down from the tree. He stifled a yawn, when the girl gently rubbed his cheek. "You're doing great baby brother. Not long now."_

_A dark figure walked past the tree and turned back again. He leant up against the trunk and lit a cigar. After a few puffs, he put it out. "It's okay, Amelia. You're Papa sent me to take you to America." He whispered, in Russian. The girl, who he now remembered to be his sister, helped him down the branches until the man below caught him. "Come. My car is around the corner." The man carried him while he held his sister's hand and together they walked around the block to where a blue car sat. He unlocked the door and placed both children in the back seat, ensuring they were both buckled in safe. Callen shook in fear as he didn't recognise the man. He wanted his Mama and Papa. He looked to his sister, hoping she could explain. A tear streaked down her face, as she tried hard to be strong for him. He tried hard to think what had lead them to flee from the beach. He opened his hand and looked at the tin solider that a man with a wheel tattoo on his wrist had given him. Amelia saw the soldier and threw it out the window. He couldn't understand why she hated the toy._

Callen was drinking his first cup of coffee for the day, thinking over his dream, when his phone rang. He noticed it was his boss' name on the caller ID. "Hetty!" He answered. "What's up?" He worried when she called him at this early hour. The news was never good.

"Mr Callen. We have a situation!" He quickly grabbed his wallet and gun, checking the clip before he inserted it at the back of his jeans. "There's been an attempted kidnapping in Holmby Hills. I need you to meet me at our meeting point nearby."

"I'll be there in twenty, Hetty." Callen hung up and ran down the stairs to his car. He started his engine and drove away, hoping he hadn't woken up any of the other guests. He drove north until he hit the Whiltshire Boulevard. He slowed and pulled over, one hundred metres from the entrance to the Los Angeles Country Club. He saw Hetty's JAG approach from the other direction and he flashed his lights.

Callen quickly ran over to the other side of the road, where Hetty and a woman in her forties dressed in a nurses uniform climbed out. Callen focused on Hetty, confused to why they were dealing with a kidnapping of a nurse.

"Mr Callen. I need you to take her to the boat shed. Ensure you are not being followed. I will meet you there as soon as I can." Hetty nodded to the woman to go with her agent before climbing back inside her JAG and sped away. Callen grabbed the woman's hand and ran back to his car. They quickly buckled in and off they went.

There was silence in the car as he drove. He was focused on looking in his mirrors for any tails. He drove around in circles, heading east, before turning west towards the coast again. Satisfied they had no tail, he pulled up near the boat shed. He place his fingers on his lips to remain silent, although he wondered why, when she hadn't said one word to him throughout the drive. He turned and looked around for any movement. Once he opened the door to their safe house, he relaxed a little.

**Boat shed...**

"Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, water?" He asked her.

"Tea please." She sat at the table, holding her arms around her body to get some warmth. The coolness of the early hour and the shock of what had happened to her that morning, made her shiver.

Callen noticed and quickly scanned the room for a blanket. He pulled a blue cashmere blanket over her shoulders and saw appreciation in her eyes.

"Thanks." Her voice seemed foreign to her. She coughed as it had become dry.

Callen quickly poured some water while he waited for the kettle to boil. She looked up at him with appreciation, as she drank all of its contents.

"Rough morning?" She nodded. "We've met before, haven't we?" She nodded again. He thought as he watched her. "You were one of the nurses who looked after me in hospital a few years ago, weren't you?"

Worry crossed the woman's face. "You nearly died. You had us all worried about you."

It was Callen's turn to frown. "You were worried about me?" He was confused by her comment.

He thought back to when he had woken up from being unconscious. He had to admit, he was never good a being in hospital for any length of time. But he felt a calm that he hadn't felt in a long time, having her take care of him. "Who are you?" He finally asked her.

The woman looked over at him, as he poured two cups of tea. "You know who I am." She replied.

Callen turned around to face her. He was surprised by her response. "I know you are a critical care nurse at UCLA Medical Centre. But who are you?"

"A very good question Mr Callen." Henrietta Lange replied as she entered the boat shed. She smiled over to the woman, but concern for her remained in her eyes.

Callen placed the two cups of tea in front of the women who sat before him. He turned to make another cup for himself. His ears pricked up to hear the women talk.

"Who were those men who tried to capture you Mrs Simmons?" Hetty asked her.

'So she was married.' Callen noted. He waited for more intel on the woman.

"I have never seen them before. But they spoke a language I knew." Callen turned around and looked at them both. The woman looked up at him. "They spoke Romani." She added.

Callen made eye contact with Hetty. He saw the worry in her eyes. "Romani? You know the language?" Callen was still very much out of the loop.

He was thrown back into a memory from his time in the UCLA Medical Centre, after he had been shot. He had tried hard to get the nurse to talk with him, but she had remained quiet and professional in her dealings with him. He even tried speaking in different languages to see if she would respond to him then. He had told a joke in Romani.

Callen looked over to the woman. "Of course. I remember now. You smiled a little at my joke I told in Romani." 'Why had he forgotten about it?' He wondered. It had been the most he had gotten from the nurse the whole time he had been under her care.

"Please sit down Mr Callen." Hetty requested. He obeyed, and sipped from his tea. He hoped it gave him the patience he needed, as he had so many questions he wanted answered right then.

Callen looked from Hetty and back to the woman. "What haven't you told me?"

"My name is not really Emily. Simmons is my married name. My real name is... Amy. Amy Callen." Tears spilled down her cheeks. Here she was, finally after all these years, allowed to tell her baby brother, who she was.

"No!" Callen stood, as anger rippled through his body. "My sister drowned, when she was eleven. Hannah Lawson confirmed it to me. I visit her grave every week."

"Te rog, iubito frate. Acesta este adevărul." [Please, baby brother. I tell you the truth]. Tears streamed down Amy's face. It broke her heart to see her brother like this. All alone.

"Dacă ceea ce spun este adevărul. Care este numele meu?" [If what you say is the truth. What is my name?]

"Mother forbad the mention of your name. It would put you in more danger, than what you have already had with the Comescus." Amy turned to Hetty. "Mother was desperate to get us out of Romania, after the news that our Father's own government were after him, let alone the enemies he had trying to kill him. He escaped, but we couldn't go with him. We had no idea about the Comescu blood feud until it was too late. A friend of our Father's brought us to America and separated us for safety. We now had two enemies after us. Those of the Comescus and the Stelmakhs."

A shiver ran down Callen's spine at the name of the Stelmakh family name. The head of the family was a major Russian arms dealer, the name of Roman Stelmakh. Callen had heard bad things about the family and had been fortunate to have avoided dealing with them on his past operations in Russia and Eastern Europe. Until they came after him. That was how he finally found his Father. They had only killed the men who had been sent to Los Angeles a week ago. Now his Father had disappeared again, in hope it would keep them both safe. But now here was his sister, very much alive and needing his and his team's help, to keep her safe from more Romani's. When was this ever going to end?

Amy saw her brother react to the name. "You know these people?"

Callen nodded. "Yes!" Callen stood and leant on one of the posts holding up the roof of the boat shed. "You are right. They are far worse than the Comescus." He looked to Hetty. "We need to know whose these men work for!"

"I agree with you Mr Callen. Before they strike again." Hetty remained seated and in eye contact with her team leader. She knew there was something he hadn't shared with her. She could see it in his eyes. "But before we go any further, you need to tell me what went on a week ago, Mr Callen."

Callen tried hard to hide it, but she knew. Damn it! Why is it that Hetty could alway find out the truth. Callen fidgeted with his cup and tried to ignore Hetty's gorgon stare. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't avoid the intensity of her eyes boring into his head. He knew how she achieved it, he tried it on suspects all the time. They caved in and spilled everything. But Callen had promised his Father that he wouldn't. He couldn't tell Hetty, even if he wanted to. If anyone found out he had met his Father, and what he and Sam had done, their jobs would be on the line. Nell's also.

"You know what happened a week ago Hetty." He used his deflective skills that he used on Nate, in hope that Hetty would let it rest. Some armed men held up the Harrisons' in their home."

"The Harrisons are not just anyone Mr Callen. They were your Foster parents who cared very much for you. They still do. They never fostered another child after you left. It hurt them too much. They loved you as their own son. Now they've been relocated and given new identities for their safety, yet you still haven't made one inquiry of their well being or visited them, while we had them in our custody. Instead you asked for some time off and disappeared for a few days. And I am fully aware your partner knows what went on, as he deviously disappeared hours at a time, while pretending to be working on this case. The case, Mr Callen, which was about you, if I remember correctly. The same men who came after you when you were nine years old. So cut the crap and spill." Hetty demanded of him.

"Who were after you?" Amy asked her brother. This was the first time she had heard that someone had been after her baby brother when he was in foster care.

"The Stelmakhs." Amy gasped as realisation of the danger her brother had been in all these years hit her. Hetty sat with her face emotionless, satisfied she had gotten something out of him. Callen looked to Hetty. "You kept me off the case Hetty, so you know what happens when you keep me in the dark about my life." He looked at his sister and then back to his boss. "You knew about Amy all these years, yet you led me to believe she was dead. Why?"

"We had to keep you safe Mr Callen. Both of you. For your Mother's sake. I owed it to her, for not getting the three of you out or Romania soon enough." The burden of losing her dear friend hung heavily on her shoulders all these years.

"So it's okay for you to keep things close to the chest, but I have to tell you everything? Is that fair Hetty? Because from where I'm standing, nothing has been fair from the day we were split up as a family and our Mom was killed by the Comescus. You pretend to care, but there's so much about who we are that you have no idea. No idea who our Father was until recently, and yet only a name and that he was a Russian KGB, who helped Germans escape the eastern block to America. Do you know how we arrived in America? Why I was placed in an orphanage on the east coast and Amy on the west? No you don't. But Amy does." He turned to his sister. "I remembered last night. I dreamt about you. Pulling me off the beach to hide up the apple tree until a friend of our Father's came and took us to somewhere safe. Only to be separated. I needed you Amelia. I needed you and Papa. Instead we were split up and moved around. Lost and unloved. And whenever I found a family to love me, these Russians found me and wanted to kill me. So I had to run away. I only had myself to depend on."

Anger raged through Callen's body as he moved from the support post he leant on. "What is my name?" He gently asked his sister again. "If you are truly Amelia Clara Reznikov, you will tell me. And the name of the man who brought us to America."

"I can't. He made me promised not to tell." Amy choked on her tears as she saw the hurt in her brother's eyes, but was surprised he knew her full name. She wished she had been with him all these years to take care of him, but she was told it wasn't safe.

Callen pulled Amy into the interrogation room and switched off the mic and camera feed into the room. "No one can hear us now. I need to know, to verify that you really are my sister. "

"Would a DNA test satisfy you enough?" She hoped as she had held her promise all these years. She could see the lack of trust Callen held for others.

"Tell me please." Callen pleaded again.

Amy wiped her tears from her face as she thought over his request. She nodded. "Your name is Gavriil Alexander Reznikov. A man name Arkady Kolcheck brought us to America."

Tears escaped Callen's blue orbs as he let his guard down before his sister. Hearing her admission to what he had learnt a week earlier, confirmed that she really was Amelia. "Thank you." His voice was raspy from the emotion that rocked through his body. After all these years, finally he was reunited with his Father and sister in such a short time. "Papa thinks you are dead." He kept his voice low, just incase Hetty had ears in this room besides the mic that he knew of.

Amy looked over to her brother with confusion. "You've seen Papa?"

Callen nodded. "Last week. Arkady is an old friend, I worked with him many years ago. He moved to Los Angeles and he helps me out on cases when a Russian is involved. I went to him hoping he could help me find out who was after me. It's through him that he arranged for Papa to come here to see me. I only found out recently who our Papa was. Last week Papa called me Gavriil. But I remembered him calling me Gav, when I heard his voice. A memory of us fishing came back to me. Arkady admitted that it was he who brought us to America. I just needed to hear it from you to make sure you really are my sister." He grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his hand. "I've missed you so much."

"Me too Gav. Me too." Amelia stood and walked around the table towards her brother. She sat on the edge of the table and ruffled his short hair. "When you were shot, I thought I was going to lose you. I worried over you Gav. But you are strong and survived. Look at you. Mama would be proud of you." She choked back her tears.

Callen stood and wrapped his arms around her. "Mama and Papa would be proud of you too Amelia. A critical care nurse. I felt a calm when you were on shift. A calm I hadn't felt in a long time."

"How is Papa?" Amy asked him. She had worried over him all these years.

"Better now he's seen me. I must send word to him that you are alive. It will lift his spirits more." Callen held her close, not wanting to let her go.

An hour later...

Sam entered the boat shed and saw Hetty sitting by the table alone. She looked lost in her thoughts. "Hetty? Where is he?"

Hetty sighed and suddenly felt her age. "He's in the interrogation room with Emily Simmons."

"Granger told us. Said G hasn't taken it well." Sam worried over how pale Hetty looked.

"You know how your partner is with his trust issues. Doesn't want to believe her." Hetty felt tired from all the years of taking care of Clara's children.

Sam went to walk into the interrogation room. "I wouldn't go in there Mr Hanna. He's in the foulest of moods. Seems his lack of sleep is still keeping him irritable."

"He has many things that haunt him Hetty. It's surprising he's survived so long." Sam admitted. But he also knew Callen had been sleeping more again over the past week, now that his Father had returned to his life, and together killed the men who had been sent to kill him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Haunted Dreams**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I only own the original characters. Shane Brennan and CBS has the pleasure of owning all NCIS Los Angeles Characters._

_Thank you all for your continued support and review. They are encouraging._

**Chapter 7**

**Office of Special Projects...**

Suddenly Hetty felt older than she had in all of her years. The strain of keeping Clara Callen's children safe, overwhelmed her. She felt a tightening of her chest, and a sharp pain shoot up her left arm. She gasped for air as her visioned blurred.

**Boat Shed...**

Callen had been surprised to find Hetty had left the boat shed when he and Amy came back out of the interrogation room. He looked over at his partner, who had seen him a week earlier drop down his walls, when he reunited with his Father. Sam Hanna had become his brother and he had let him in, slowly, bit by bit over the seven years of partnership. "Where's Hetty?"

"She's gone back to the mission. But she didn't look good G." Sam revealed.

"It's all my fault Sam. I was hard on her." He turned to his sister. "Sam. This is my sister, Amy. Amy, this is my partner, Sam."

Sam moved forward and shook her hand. "Please to finally meet you properly."

"You were a faithful friend to my brother, when he was shot. Thank you Sam for being there when he needed you." Amy had seen Sam sit beside her brother's bedside each day, protecting him from danger and being there for him, when he thought he was alone.

"Sam. I need to apologise to Hetty. Can you please look after Amy while I talk with her?" Callen didn't want to leave Amy, but he too had seen how pale Hetty looked. Suddenly she looked old.

"Sure." Sam motioned for Amy to sit on the couch, while he poured himself some coffee. Callen quickly ran out the door, hoping to be gone for a short time.

As he walked into the mission, he saw Hetty fall to the floor. "Hetty!"

Callen's shout caught Owen Granger's attention from the second level of the building and quickly rang for an ambulance.

Callen knelt down beside her and saw her struggle to breathe. "I'm sorry Hetty. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. It was such a shock." He moved her onto her side to allow more room for her airways to gain access. Sweat beaded on Hetty's brow as she tried to speak.

"I should have told you about your sister. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes as another waves of pain shot up her arm.

Owen Granger ran down the stairs to assist. "What happened Callen?"

"I think she's having a heart attack." Callen saw how grey Hetty looked in her face.

"I've called for an ambulance. They should be here in five." Owen advised him.

Kensi and Deeks gave each other worried looks when they pulled up outside the mission, as they saw Hetty being loaded into the back of an ambulance. "What happened?" Kensi asked Callen, who remained by their Operations Manager's side.

"Heart attack." He looked lost as he made eye contact with her. He climbed into the back of the ambulance. "Let Sam know I've gone with Hetty to UCLA Medical Centre. Ask him to take Emily there, she'll be needed to take care of her." Kensi nodded, still in shock at what they saw.

Kensi pulled out her cell and dialled Sam.

"Hey Kens." Sam greeted her, unaware of what was happening two blocks away.

"Callen needs you to take Emily to UCLA Medical Centre. Hetty's had a heart attack." Emotion ripped through the usually stoic young agent, over the worry she had for the older woman.

"What? Okay. We'll be there ASAP." Sam quickly disconnected the call and grabbed Amy's hand. "Hetty's had a heart attack. G's gone with her in the ambulance to UCLA Medical Centre."

Amy returned to being Emily Simmons once more and nodded her head. "Back to work then."

**UCLA Medical Centre...**

Callen paced the corridor waiting on news of Hetty. He was relieved to see his sister arrive with Sam, ready to help take care of Hetty. "I just need to report in and get changed. As soon as I know anything, I'll send word out to you." Callen watched her walk through the double doors into the theatre area. He felt bad that he had spoken so badly with her, guilt laid heavily on his shoulders as he slumped down onto a seat beside his partner.

"You can't blame yourself G. You had no idea that she was unwell. None of us did." Sam tried to reassure him.

"I should have seen it coming. We are trained to look for signs in people we meet to see if they are telling us the truth or doing something wrong. I should have seen that she was struggling..."

"You're not trained in the medical field G. Emily was there also, and she never picked up on any signs. Go easy on yourself okay?" Sam placed his hand on his partner's shoulders, hoping to calm him down. They all felt bad about Hetty's condition, bringing her age and health status to the forefront of their minds. They had all fooled themselves that Hetty would be with them forever. That she would live an extremely long time like Yoda. She did remind them of the master Jedi after all, with her ninja like moves, appearing out of nowhere and her ability to make anyone confess everything with her gorgon stare. Usually she was the one with an incredibly slow heart rate, so none of them expected her to have a heart attack. Sam closed his eyes and prayed for her wellbeing.

Kensi and Deeks arrived soon after, with Granger not far behind.

"Any news?" Deeks asked. He had noticed how Kensi had become extremely quiet since she had rung Sam. Deeks worried about his partner, knowing how she felt about the older woman. Henrietta Lange was like their Mother hen. Keeping a close eye on her chicks in the office and out in the field, ensuring they all made it home safe each day. And when they didn't she felt their loss immensely. As Callen had said a while back, Hetty holds everything in close like a Kevlar vest.

"Not yet." Sam replied, knowing G was too shocked to answer.

Granger sat opposite from Callen, observing him. He knew Hetty was the closest thing he had to a Mother. He of all people knew what lengths the tiny woman had gone to over the years, to ensure the man before him stayed safe. He had been with her, when she dashed off to Romania to find Clara, only to discover she was killed by the Comescus. She searched for days looking for her children, only to be told they were no longer there. Owen was with her when she found Callen a few years later in an orphanage. He had moved from the east coast of America and was found in Los Angeles. From that moment on, she took over the role of ensuring he was safe. He was the one who had seen Amy slip into the river and had dived in to save her. It was then that the two of them had decided to place Amy with a family they knew, who had one child, but couldn't have anymore. The Father was a Doctor, the mother a Marine. They knew she would be safe living with them. They had adopted her and her name was changed to Emily Davis. As far as the world was concerned, Amy Callen died that day. Or so they thought. It wasn't until Hannah Lawson showed up as Amy Callen, did they realise the scared eleven year old friend was living in fear of her own life, and took on her friend's name.

"What?" Callen snapped at Granger as he felt him bore his eyes into his forehead. "You blame me too?" Callen stood to leave, he needed some fresh air.

Owen stood also, preventing Callen from leaving. "The only person I see blaming you Agent Callen, is yourself." He spoke gently, knowing how worried he was over Hetty.

Callen's blue orbs met Owen's brown in surprise. "Why are you being so..." He wanted Owen to be angry with him, not like this...kind. It bothered him when people who were usually hard with him, suddenly soften.

"I know how close you are to Hetty. She's been like a mother to you. It's understandable you feel so..."

"Don't. I don't need you to tell me how I feel and that it's okay to feel this way." Callen interjected. "I had no right to be angry with her..."

"Yes you did." Callen furrowed his brow at Granger. "We kept Amy a secret from you. We should have put you together, not kept you separate."

"You knew?" He whispered, keeping is voice low, being aware that he was in public place. Although anger rippled though Callen's body as he discovered Granger also knew about his life.

"I was with Hetty when she searched for you in Romania. It was I who dived in and saved Amy from drowning in the river, that night she escaped the orphanage with Hannah Lawson. Together we decided to place your sister with a family we knew. We should have reunited the two of you together then. I'm sorry." Owen walked away, giving Callen the space he needed to absorb the details of what he had given him. He worried over the man when he was a boy just as much as Hetty had. Only to be despised by him, when he had joined NCIS. They did what they thought was the right thing to do, at the time. Neither of them had children of their own, so they didn't have the experience of what a child needed.

Callen felt his heart had been ripped from him. He struggled to breathe as the pain from realising Hetty and Granger could have changed his life for the better.

Sam saw Callen struggle. He rose and gently guided him back down into a seat. "Deep breaths G." He kept his hands on his partner's shoulders for support. "We're here for you G. Whatever you need us for."

Callen shook his head, thinking of the guilt he felt for what he had already dragged Sam and Nell into. "Not again Sam. I can't risk you losing everything for me."

"That's what partners are for G. When are you going to get that fact into that thick head of yours?" Sam scolded him softly.

"That goes for us too Callen." Deeks had heard Sam. They all knew that whoever was after Emily Simmons was an enemy of of Callen's too. "We're a team. All for one and one for all."

Kensi raised her brow at her partner. "We're musketeers now? What happened to Sherlock Holmes and Watson?" Kensi tried to lighten their moods, as well as her own. They were her first words which she had spoken in half an hour.

"When it's just us Fern." Deeks replied. "But when we're with the rest of our team..."

Callen shook his head. "I can't ask that of you. It could cost you your careers and your lives." Callen's need to protect his team remained strong.

"So could you G. Deeks is right. We are all here for you." Sam added.

They were interrupted by Emily, as she returned to the waiting area. Callen looked up at his sister and saw a small smile appear. "Hetty's stabilised. Your quick thinking prevented any damage to her heart. She needs to rest, but she is asking for you Gav."

Kensi and Deeks raised their brows surprised at her use of Callen's name. "Gav as in Gavin? That's what the mystery to your name has been all these years?" Deeks inquired.

Callen smiled and shook his head. "Not Gavin, Deeks." Callen smirked over to Sam as he followed Amy through the doors to where Hetty rested.

Sam chuckled with relief now they knew Hetty was going to be okay, and from amusement over Callen's name. 'Boy were they going to have fun with this one.' He mused.

"I'm not getting it. She called him Gav. Gav is short for Gavin." Deeks tried to reason with Kensi.

"Shut up Deeks." Kensi looked over at Sam curiously. "However, Sam knows what it is."

Deeks looked over at Sam and knew instantly he wouldn't share. "Not fair." Deeks muttered.

Callen paused at the doorway to Hetty's room. Amy nodded her head to ensure him that it was okay for him to be there.

"Mr Callen?" Hetty's voice remained quiet, but he heard her just the same.

He slowly entered, prepared for the worst, but was relieved to see that colour had returned to her complexion. "You look much better now Hetty. You scared us." He breathed out slowly his breath he had been holding in.

Hetty patted beside her on the bed. "Sit please."

Callen obeyed. He watched her watching him as he sat. He picked up her hand and held it in his. "I can't lose you Hetty." Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought back to seeing her fall to the ground.

"I don't plan on going anywhere Mr Callen. Now we've got a bit of catching up to do. Haven't we?" Hetty looked to Amy and nodded.

Amy placed her hand on her brother's arm. "I'll be back soon."

Callen watched his sister leave. He still couldn't believe she was alive.

"I'm sorry I didn't reunite you both a long time ago. I realise that now. You've been too deeply hurt, being left on your own." Hetty began. "But we can make it right now?" Hetty observed him nod his head.

Callen looked into her blue eyes and felt like he had betrayed her. "You're not going to like it Hetty."

"Shock me." She smiled at him, hoping it will help him open up to her.

"Arkady was the friend of our Father's who rescued us from Romania and brought us here to America." Callen revealed.

"That bastard! After telling us he didn't know who your Father was..."

"He promised my Father that he wouldn't tell anyone, not even me. But I forced it out of him. He reacted strangely, when I told him about the Russians who wanted to kill me when I was nine." Hetty raised her brow, waiting for the rest. "I held my gun pointed at him."

Hetty chuckled and shook her head. "You were never one to trust easily were you Mr Callen?"

"Gavriil. My name is Gavriil Alexander Reznikov." Callen smiled at her. "But you can call me Gav. That's what my parents and Amy always called me."

"Who told you?" Hetty asked curiously.

"I remembered." He admitted.

"That is good that you remember." Hetty firmly gripped his hand as he played with her hand in his. "When did this happen?"

"Last week. When I heard his voice." Surprise crossed Hetty's face as he revealed this secret.

"You've seen your Father?" Callen nodded.

"I need to get word to him about Amelia." Callen smirked. "He's going to be so happy when he finds out."

"You have Owen to thank for Amy's life, Gav." She tried his name out on her tongue and smiled as she said it. The name suited him.

"I know. He told me, while we were waiting to hear about you." Callen saw Hetty yawn. "You're tired. You need your rest."

"But we've not finished here yet, have we? So far all that you have told me has been good things. But you said I'm not going to like it. What have you done Gav, that I won't like?" She gently prodded. She knew she shouldn't after the heart attack, but she worried about him too much anyway.

"My Father told me about the Stelmakh's. The men who held the Harrisons' up, some of them drove past Arkady's place. So we had to hideout in a safe house."

"Which house Gav?" She inquired. She was impressed he had managed to hideout in one without her finding out. She was losing her touch.

"No. 5." He admitted.

"Hmm! So do I need to restock the freezer and pantry?" Hetty smiled, amused by his admission. He looked like the small boy she had first seen him as.

"No! I restocked it all." He was glad he had now, especially with all that was going on with Amy and some Romanies.

"Good to hear."

"But that's not all. Nell traced the men to Omni."

Hetty held up her other hand. "I know. But somehow the ballistics report showed a glock as the weapon used, not a sig. So for now, you and Mr Hanna can rest knowing no one is going to lose their job.

Callen raised his brow in surprise. "I don't understand..."

"I think you need to ask Miss Jones and Mr Beale that question. It seems Gavrill, that your team are willing to enter the lion's den for you. Take care of your team and let them help you. Trust them."

Callen nodded. "Thanks Hetty." He leant over and kissed her on the temple. "I'll be back later. We have some Romanies to deal with."

Hetty chuckled as she watched her team leader leave her hospital room. She closed her eyes as tiredness took over. She was at peace knowing that she had trained them all well, to be there for her favourite boy.


End file.
